[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/twewy_8028.jpg]]->''"Listen up, Phones! [[TitleDrop The world ends with you]]. If you want to enjoy life, expand your world. You gotta push your horizons out as far as they'll go."''-->'''--Sanae Hanekoma'''

[[MarketBasedTitle Also known as]] ''It's a Wonderful World'' (Japanese: ''Subarashiki Kono Sekai''), '''''The World Ends with You''''' is an action RPG by Creator/SquareEnix and Jupiter (the same company that made ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories'').

It tells the story of Neku Sakuraba, an [[LonersAreFreaks asocial]] [[EmoTeen teen]] who wakes up one day on the crossroads of Shibuya, Tokyo with [[LaserGuidedAmnesia no clue how he got there]]. He soon discovers that he has been dumped into a PhantomZone version of Shibuya called the "Underground", where he will be forced to play the week-long "Reapers' Game". Victory will allow Neku to recover his lost memories and escape from the Underground, but if he loses he'll be [[DeaderThanDead erased]].

The rules of the Reapers' Game dictate that it must be played in teams of two, and Neku is abruptly partnered with Shiki Misaki, a [[TheFashionista fashion-conscious]] chatterbox who [[HiddenDepths becomes the first person to break into Neku's world]]. Other characters include [[{{Malaproper}} Daisukenojo "Beat" Bito]], a skater who fights before thinking and will [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu take on anyone]] to finish the game; Raimu (aka "Rhyme"), Beat's logical and adage-loving partner; and Yoshiya "Joshua" Kiryu, a [[InsufferableGenius too-clever-by-half]] teenager who shares Neku's [[DeadpanSnarker impatience when working with others]]. Armed with mysterious psychic powers linked to pin badges, the group fight to overcome the challenges set by the Reapers' Game and survive their seven days in the Underground. Opposing them are the organisers and moderators of the game, the Reapers themselves. That's the premise -- the plot is a whirlwind of [[TheReveal reveals]] and gambits, so much so that the game encourages you to play a second time to gather secret reports that will allow you to make sense of it. Well, ''possibly'' make sense of it.

The soundtrack consists of modern, local acts from in and around the [[RealLife real-life]] Shibuya, and the graphics are inspired by Shibuya's fashion and trends, with character designs by Gen Kobayashi and TetsuyaNomura. Many have commented that the latter's SignatureStyle works much better in the context of modern Shibuya than it has in [[Franchise/FinalFantasy previous]] [[KingdomHearts games]] he's worked on.

Battles are complex and fast-paced, with deep character-customization systems and a large number of in-battle actions to choose from. These battles use all of the DS's unique features, and at [[DifficultyLevels higher difficulties]] not paying equal attention to both screens can be [[GameOver deadly]], so the game is often noted for its difficulty and complexity. It has achieved a high level of critical acclaim, particularly for how different it is from its contemporaries.

Square Enix has also released a one-shot tie-in manga.

An [[IOSGames iOS port]] of the game subtitled ''Solo Remix'' was released on August 27, 2012. The port features enhanced graphics, new music including the remixes from ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'', and online Tin-Pin. While no story changes were made, iOS devices could not support the two-screen combat style used in the original, creating a new combat system in which pairs fought together on screen. The port [[http://kotaku.com/5939776/surprise-ending-of-the-world-ends-with-you-remake-teases-sequel also makes vague hints towards a sequel being in development]]. The port is a [[invoked]][[BaseBreaker contentious issue]] among fans and critics: some critics felt the gameplay was more natural on the iOS, some didn't, and then there's the fact that the game requires a relatively new iOS device due to memory requirements. The iOS version has since been pulled from the store and then returned.

There's also a [[http://www.siliconera.com/2012/10/23/the-world-ends-with-you-live-remix-coming-this-winter-from-square-enix-and-gree/ social game]] subtitled ''Live Remix'', set in an alternate universe. At the beginning of the week, players are assigned into groups of 20, and need to work together to defeat Ringleader Noise. Coco Atarashi [[AscendedExtra returns]] to guide you throughout the game as you explore Shibuya. [[NoExportForYou There's no English release yet]], however, and the Japanese game shut down on February 28, 2014.

See also ''{{Series/Sh15uya}}'' and ''Manga/{{Gantz}}'', which have similar premises. For a game similar in visual and musical aesthetic rather than story matter, see ''VideoGame/JetSetRadio''. See also ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', which is also set in Shibuya for seven days. Contrast ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors'', which deals with similar themes and carries the same {{HSQ}}.

'''Note:''' ''It's A Wonderful World'' [[SimilarlyNamedWorks is a dangerously similar title to that]] of a 1939 live-action ScrewballComedy -- ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031500/ It's a Wonderful World]]'' -- starring Jimmy Stewart and Claudette Colbert.

'''Spoilers below.''' The game is a GenreBusting DeconReconSwitch, so spoilers abound.

%%Don't change the above. It's not a typo. We're not talking about It's A Wonderful Life, we're talking about a separate movie titled It's A Wonderful World. Leave it as is.%%

----!!Provides Examples Of:* HundredPercentCompletion: There are 22 secret reports, 96 Noise reports, 472 items, and 304 pins to collect. Completing each set gets you a star rank for that collection and a new character on the save screen. Collecting all the secret reports also unlocks TheStinger.** UnwinnableByMistake: The iOS port makes full completion just about impossible due to the changes to "mingling." This was changed in an update which added Tin Pin practice mode which gives Mingle PP.* OneHundredAndEight: Joshua is Entry #108 in Another Day's Tin Pin Slammer tourney. And Pin #108 is "Eyes Full of Light".* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The Shibuya River. Easily big enough for the characters to walk and fight in.** TruthInTelevision , as it really does exist. According to TheOtherWiki, the Shibuya River was adapted from a city street.* AffablyEvil: See PunchClockVillain below.* AffectionateParody: Another Day often comes across as this, of {{Super Sentai}}-style shows and [=RPGs=] ("Black joined the party!") and games are SeriousBusiness type shows like Yu-Gi-Oh.** The Tin-Pin storyline is also a parody of the game ''you just played.'' * AfterCombatRecovery: You gain full HP after finishing battles. However, if you fighting against Noise in Chain Reductions, your HP will not recover in between rounds.* AllThereInTheManual: The Japanese manual includes things like the pins that your three partners use. Which explains things like how Joshua somehow uses his cell phone to drop soda machines on enemies [[spoiler:although most fans have already made a [[PhysicalGod justified assumption]]]].** Furthermore, the manual [[spoiler:even points out all of Neku's partners, making Neku's shocking expression after finding out he has to play through another game less surprising. It even goes so far as to tell the order in which you get Shiki, Joshua, and Beat.]]** This trope is also in effect ''in the game's universe'' via the Secret Reports, which act as a combination of UnreliableNarrator and MrExposition. They do at least explain the rules of the game and its universe before one final MindScrew. Since you have to complete a series of enigmatic quests, scour locations for certain items, and fight boss battles (on "hard" difficulty or higher), getting the manual requires [[TrialAndErrorGameplay the right combination of ingenuity and combat skills]], particularly since chapters will end if you trigger event flags before completing your missions. [[MemeticMutation Oh, snap!]] There's a guide for that!* AlmightyJanitor: Kariya fits the bill nicely, although he does very little work at ''all''.* AlreadyDoneForYou: A few missions are partially completed by other Players, but only after you've done almost all of the work. On a smaller and less plot-relevant note, the Reaper wall between Center Street Entrance and AMX during Week 2 Day 2 is up if you go from the Center Street side but down if you go from the AMX side, confusing Neku until Joshua reminds him that there are other Players clearing walls too.* AlternateUniverse: "Another Day".* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: In "Another Day", some character alignments switch around and a few character tics are removed and replaced with new ones -- gone are Higashizawa's food puns, now he acts like an overly flirty woman. [[invoked]]** The best and most immediate inversion of character is Neku himself, who is suddenly and almost inexplicably [[WeWantOurJerkBack joyous and full of love for life]]. And begins each day praying to God in slang. And sleeps in the middle of the Scramble Crossing ''on purpose''. * AnAesop: The quote at the top of this page is the game's unifying theme.* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: Neku switching partners at the start of each week. [[LateArrivalSpoiler You thought you were done so soon?]]* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: After several days of battling Noise, [[spoiler:Rhyme]] undergoes an EmergencyTransformation and eventually manifests as one. {{Downplayed}} in that the transformation only serves to introduce her as a LivingMacGuffin, rather than invoking any InternalConflictTropes on her part.* AntiPoopSocking: Of the three kinds of experience that your pins can get, one can only be gained by leaving your DS off for a significant period of time (or by changing the date on your system, but that's ''cheating!'') Other than experience for your pins, stat boosting food can only be consumed at a rate of 24 "bytes" per day (you can eat items worth six bytes or less at any time, but they rarely give significant statistic boosts). This can be circumvented by purchasing an item or by adjusting the internal clock of your DS.* ArbitraryMissionRestriction: Some special Pig Noise enemies must be defeated in very idiosyncratic ways. Some require a specific pin to be erased, some must be beaten in under ten seconds, some must be beaten in a particular order, and one actually requires you to ''close your DS'' in order to be erased.* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Reaper Sport 1 is RussianRoulette. Reaper Sport 2 is ''Hide-and-Seek''. Reaper Sport 3 is a Player Hunt, while Reaper Sport 4 is ''Tag''.* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:Technically, this is what happens to all the Players upon entering the game. The Secret Reports reveal that the Underground is on a slightly higher plane then the real world, meaning Players ascend to a higher plane upon death. Also, Players who do exceptionally well are offered the chance to become Reapers, and Reapers who do exceptionally well can be promoted to Officers, giving them a chance to become Composer and/or even ''Angels.'']]* AssimilationPlot: ''[[spoiler:To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be...]]''* AssistCharacter: Your partners in the [=iOS=] version.* AwesomeButImpractical: In general, you will have ''long'' since beaten the main game ''and'' all the secret missions before you come anywhere close to obtaining half the cool items/powers, much less be able to use them. Completion has to be its own reward, because you're not going to get the toys when they'd do you any good. ** A lot of pins that you do find in your first playthrough can fall under this too.** It's possible to collect a ''significant'' number of items (pins and items with ability unlocked) before ''Another Day'', thanks to strategy guides and combat grinding. But no one would ever do that.* TheBaroness: Mitsuki Konishi is pretty much the embodiment of the trope. * BaitAndSwitchBoss: [[spoiler:Taboo Minamimoto]], who gets crunched before you can actually fight to death. [[spoiler: He comes back as Blue Noise during the postgame.]]* BattleCouple: Sota and Nao. Possibly Uzuki and Kariya as well, [[{{Shipping}} depending on interpretation.]]* TheBattleDidntCount: [[spoiler:Reaper Beat]]. Even if you land a significant number of hits (or manage to defeat him in New Game+), Neku will be gasping and mocked for being too weak to be worth fighting.** [[spoiler:Taboo Minamimoto]] as well.* BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame: This is the goal of all Players and even [[spoiler:Kitaniji, Minamimoto and Konishi]], who are all plotting against the Composer for one reason or another. However, only [[spoiler:Kitaniji]] is formally held to this rule the way the Players are.* BeehiveBarrier: The Reaper walls. * BerserkButton: Beat's [[EmbarrassingFirstName real name]]; also, mentioning Ramen Don owner Ken Doi's past involvement in [[spoiler:the development of Tin Pin]].** On the note of Ken Doi in Another Day. '''''"...What? Who told you that name?"'''''* BigBad: [[spoiler:Kitaniji and/or Joshua]]. One was a god-like figure who wanted to destroy Shibuya because of its dire problems, and the other was trying to start an AssimilationPlot to convince him otherwise.** Well, only if you believe that [[spoiler:Joshua]] didn't actually arrange things so that he'd lose from the beginning. It's just [[GambitRoulette that]] [[ChessMaster kind of]] [[GambitPileup situation]].** Then there was [[spoiler:Hanekoma]], a third party who was against both [[spoiler:Kitaniji and Joshua's]] ideas and helped [[spoiler:Minamimoto]] with his plans as a backup in case things didn't turn out well.** In the short chapter [[AlternateUniverse Another Day]] the Big Bad [[spoiler:initially appears to be [[PunchClockVillain Uzuki]], who didn't really have a big role in the main story]]. [[spoiler:However, during the final confrontation [[DiscOneFinalBoss Higashizawa]], who had an even smaller part in the main story pulls a [[TheStarscream Starscream]] on her.]]* BigOMG: Another Day Shiki, upon seeing her idol the Prince: "Omi- omi- omi- oho ho ho ho ohh! emm! gee!" Joshua thinks she's having a stroke.* BigNo: Neku, when he is told that [[spoiler:Shiki is his new entry fee]].* BilingualBonus: One NPC's thoughts are completely in Japanese. It's something along the lines of his American friends wanting him to smuggle a samurai sword back with him--except he can't be understood because he speaks English and he has no idea where the hell to buy one. (In the Japanese version, his text was in English instead of Japanese, so it made more sense there.)* BishonenLine: [[spoiler:Taboo Minamimoto.]]* BittersweetEnding: It's pointed out in the Secret Reports that [[spoiler:even though Rhyme came back to life, life would be difficult for her without her entry fee]].** [[spoiler:Although this is mitigated, slightly, by the fact that her entry fee can be rebuilt, unlike others: with the help of her brother and friends, she can possibly discover new hopes and dreams, which were heavily implied to be her original entry fee.]] Still not good, but... better.* BizarroUniverse: Another Day. What have they done to Neku?! And Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme? And everyone else?!* BoisterousBruiser: [[PunnyName Beat]].** Higashizawa shows some shades of BoisterousBruiser in Another Day. His boss battle is also the most straightforward and fits this trope. * BondVillainStupidity: Subverted. CantKillYouStillNeedYou and GambitPileup are in effect, but it's not until much later that the player will understand.* BonusDungeon: The entirety of Another Day could count, considering the Noise found there surpass the ones found in the endgame, but if you want to be pickier, Another Day's Pork City definitely counts, with 13 floors of extremely hard Noise, a different brand requirement on each floor, annoying Pig Noise to kill, and a BonusBoss at the top.* BonusBoss: [[spoiler:Panthera Cantus, a.k.a. Mr. Hanekoma.]]** Also Progfox, Grindcore Minks, Wooly AOR, and Goth Metal Drake. [[spoiler:And arguably Reaper Beat and Taboo Minamimoto, who you are required to fight but not win against unless you're going for 100% Completion. Or just for the sweet, sweet taste of victory.]]* BoringButPractical: The basic Shockwave pin is basically just a fast melee attack. It's also great for racking up long combos, and stunlocks enemies so you can down them fast enough to get the star rating for battles (and the subsequent xp boost).* BossBanter: In addition to Neku and his partner having lots of voice clips during battle, the [[ClimaxBoss Game Masters]] all have voice clips as well, usually to indicate they're about to use a certain attack. They'll also make a snarky comment if you die. Kariya is the master of this in pre-battle scenes.* BossRemix: The final boss theme is [[spoiler: a remix of Twister.]]* BossInMookClothing: Argh, that ''elephant''.** The last two pigs in Pork City.* BossRush: Hidden in Another Day. Played straight on subsequent playthroughts, if you choose -- ultimate difficulty and a raised battle-chain cap allow you to fight sixteen battles featuring high-level noise. You can have even more fun by combining the smaller battles with a boss fight.* {{Bowdlerization}}: There are a few inverted crosses in CAT's graffiti; these were edited for the international release.* BreakingTheFourthWall: Kariya in the second manga chapter. "Since we showed up in silhouette last time, you probably thought we were up to something dastardly. We're totally not." He also acknowledges his status as a minor villain in the third week of the game by saying "Uh, villain? It's my job to screw with you."** Joshua does this as well in Another Day. "...Excuse me? I'm up against an unnamed character? What a waste."* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler: As part of the AssimilationPlot during the third week, all of the Reapers are brainwashed and will attack Neku and Beat on sight. Uzuki and Kariya are fought in this state, resulting in a NotSoHarmlessVillain battle.]]* BrokenBridge: Done so blatantly, via a literal ''invisible wall'' that the Reapers set up and refuse to let the Players pass until they do the task of their choosing. Not only is this a straight use of the trope, it loops back around to brilliant. * BulletHell: Later bosses will create ridiculous amounts of projectiles for you to dodge. For one boss, understanding how to fight the noise created is central to advancing to the next stage of the fight.* BunnyEarsLawyer: Sho Minamimoto. He's a [[GoodWithNumbers math]] [[MadMathematician fetishist]] who spends much of his time either lazying around or building piles of junk, and during his time as GM, he doesn't even issue missions some days. Despite this, his player erasure rate is impeccable and he's a high-ranking Reaper and GM. [[spoiler:He betrays just about ''everybody'' in the end, but damn, does he excel at it. His twisted genius didn't have him thinking up any way to cover up the fact that he was up to something, though.]] However, that can be covered by the fact that [[spoiler:he's ''always'' up to something, and he's so eccentric that anything out-of-the ordinary would ''be'' ordinary for him. One of the secret reports says as much]].* ButThouMust: At one point Neku encounters three event battles. Two of them can be skipped, but the third one is mandatory -- if you try to skip it, Neku will change his mind and rush in [[spoiler:to save Sota]] anyway. Also, [[spoiler:when Kitaniji asks Neku to [[WeCanRuleTogether help him build a new Shibuya]], even if you remember the earlier ChekhovsGun and decide to play along, all it does is yield ''two'' lines of extra dialogue before Neku refuses]].* ButtonMashing: There are certain commands that are routine for pin types (same attack, different brand), so if you're up to six slots and have forgotten what to do while your first pins reboot... well, you'll probably figure it out just by frantically trying everything. Some fights come down to how quickly you can spam your opponent with attacks before they're able to start damaging ''you''. * CallARabbitASmeerp: Averted with things like frogs, wolves, and pigs. Played straight with the [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins popguins]] and corehogs.* CannotSpitItOut: When Neku finds out that Joshua [[spoiler:killed him, it takes an entire frustrating day before he confronts Joshua about it]]. Joshua himself seems to fall into this trope when [[spoiler:he doesn't tell Neku that he didn't kill him (as Neku discovers at the end of week 2)...until we find out much later that he actually ''did'' kill Neku]].** [[JustifiedTrope Justified in canon]], however, as we can see Neku's thoughts. Not only is Neku not entirely certain of his claim, Joshua is his partner and Neku needs him to win the game and save Shiki. Neku waits until Joshua is at a psychological disadvantage and he has more evidence.* CanOnlyMoveTheEyes: During cutscenes, when the characters are paralyzed, they usually scream something about how they can't move. Somewhat justified in that they're sprites, and if they didn't say so, we'd have no way of knowing they've been paralyzed.** On a similar note, the cutscene sprites used for minor characters (like Shooter) vary only by their facial expressions.* CaptainObvious: Neku outright calls Joshua this at one point. Any time a character notes the obvious, he's thinking something similar. * CatchPhrase: Sho's "So zetta slow!" along with his other math-related tics. ** Neku's "Oh snap!" upon receiving a quest item.* CatsAreMean: Minamimoto's and Konishi's and [[spoiler:Hanekoma]]'s Noise forms, oh my.* ChargedAttack: Any of the pins with "press" touch commands, though especially the Massive Hit psychs.* ChekhovsGun: Near the very beginning of the game, Neku and Shiki have a conversation and [[spoiler:Shiki notices that Neku has two Player Pins]]. Then, at the ''very end'' of the game, just before the FinalBoss, Neku [[spoiler:manages to avoid being sucked into Megumi's mind control scheme because he has a second one]]. In the same vein, the Red Skull pin is eventually revealed to [[spoiler:trigger {{Instrumentality}}]].** The secret items you have to get on your second playthrough to complete the Secret Reports are all mentioned in stray thoughts by passerby even during your first playthrough. Now you understand why that guy was rambling about a samurai wig...** Heck, there's even a callback to Neku's dash maneuver. It's the first thing you learn, and you are immune to damage at the start of the attack. Then, Neku uses it at the very end of the game, in a cutscene, to [[spoiler:get the Red Skull pin off of Shiki]].* ChainedHeat: Players in the game have to make a pact to fight Noise in two different zones or they are unable to attack it, leading to quick erasure. Also, if one member of the pair dies, the remaining one has 7 minutes to make a pact with another player or die. Neku has [[RunningGag an unfortunate tendency]] to make a pact with someone he can't stand.* ChekhovsGunman: ** Remember that Reaper with the black hoodie who gave you instructions for Tin Pin Slammer? [[spoiler:That's [[CreatorCameo Shinji Hashimoto]], the Wizard of Slam and your final opponent in the Another Day chapter.]]** Right before Shiki forms a pact with Neku, look at the crowd in front of the dog statue, Hachiko. Joshua is ''standing right next to Neku.'' He's [[StealthHiBye no longer there after Shiki and Neku form a pact and fight]].** Neku actually runs past all three of his future partners during his initial panicked dash set to the SurrealThemeTune.** And during one early mission, you see Sota and Nao a few days before they enter the next Game. Mina and Ai appear in the street one day before a mission is centered around them, as does Makoto. The Tin Pin tournament is randomly mentioned by Makoto and Shooter and Yammer a week before it becomes relevant to Neku.* ClimaxBoss: The Game Masters, fought at the end of each week. * CloseOnTitle: The numbered day of the week is specified at the beginning of each chapter, but a second splash page with the actual chapter title is shown at each chapter's end. The titles are ''painful''.* ColbertBump: In-universe, Joshua claims that this happens whenever The Prince mentions something on his blog. This is most likely why Shadow Ramen is so popular the day it takes central stage.** This is also a gameplay mechanic; Fighting battles with branded pins equipped makes those respective brands more popular in your given area. If a given brand makes the popularity chart's Top 3, all of that brand's pins are given a boost in power in that area.* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: ''Everything''.** The Reapers, who are either wearing a bright red jacket or a black sweatshirt. Those in red jackets are easier to please but the walls they're guarding are the ones you ''have'' to clear to advance; those in black sweatshirts tend to guard walls that aren't required for the main storyline (although you may need to move past them to complete the secret missions) and issue [[PopQuiz the Reaper Review]]. The latter group ''appears'' to be slightly stronger than the first and will attack you during the third week.** All items in your inventory -- food, clothes, etc. -- will be bordered with a color related to the brand (Lapin Angelique items have a purple border, Mus Rattus a light brown one, etc.). This is immensely useful when you're required to make a certain brand popular.** The QUEST items come with a blue (you can make as many of them as you want, given you can find the required materials) or red (you can only get one) border.** Noise is color-coded, which is taught to you in-game. Red noise is "regular" noise, yellow is negative noise that has to be cleared from a person, noise with a "background" color is Taboo, blue is a boss, and green is pig noise. Red noise symbols and, later, Taboo ones are the most common forms. Shapes generally indicate what you'll be expected to battle, but it varies based on which day of the game you're playing and difficulty level -- so the same symbol can represent the jellyfish sequence and kangaroos. * CombatStilettos: Enamel Pumps, a piece of equipment that when equipped will help you resist knock-back.* CombatTentacles: One of the Jellyfish Noise actually uses this as an attack.--> "If you're not careful, that [[FreudWasRight obscene tentacle]] will start [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything violating]] your HP!"* CombinationAttack: If you earn enough stars during battle, Neku and his partner can perform different types of Fusion Attacks.** Uzuki and Kariya also have one when you fight them.* CombinedEnergyAttack: [[spoiler:The fusion between Neku and all three of his partners at the end of the final battle.]]* TheComputerIsALyingBastard: [[spoiler: During multiple points of Another Day, it's stated on the bottom screen that none of the events have anything to do with the main plot. This is completely false, as Another Day takes place in the alternate universe Joshua ran off to at the end of Week 2, both Hanekomas are there, and several characters (both Joshuas, Hanekoma, possibly Minamamoto, and a few others) are aware of this fact. The game outright lies to you to make its eventual reveal all the more insane.]] This is possibly the only intentional example of this trope to ever exist.* CoolShades: Hanekoma and Kitaniji both have them. You can later buy "Funky Shades," then turn them in as a quest item.* CosmeticAward: Beating Final Time Attack will show your record time on your Mingle data. * CoupDeGraceCutscene: ** Neku's [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome final fusion attack]].** Also Minamimoto's [[spoiler:Level ''i'' Flare "killing" Joshua]].* CrackFic: Another Day. Makes you wonder if that day was [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs actually written on crack]] due to how dramatically different it is from ''everything else''. Five words: "Tin Pin is SeriousBusiness."* CreativeClosingCredits: They're similar to the ones used in ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'' and ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'', so bring tissues. * CreditsRunningSequence: The opening cinematic.* CriticalEncumbranceFailure: You can have hundreds of shirts, hats, accessories, and more, but try get 10 or more copies of the same item, and you'll supposedly "collapse in swag".* {{Crossdresser}}: You can, if dedicated enough, increase the male Player's "bravery" stat so that they'll be enabled to wear women's clothing. Sadly, if one does this, it's not [[GameplayAndStorySegregation mentioned in actual gameplay]] save for a few instances (although that's one of the only miniquests that Neku won't comment on -- when you click your partner, we're told Josh is totally workin' that Natural Puppy outfit). It is parodied in the {{manga}}, in any case. Reading minds will also occasionally turn up a man disguised as a woman -- and totally pulling it off.** There are some articles of clothing that have extra benefits when worn by certain characters. Each character has at least a few items that provide a significant bonus when worn by their designated user (and no bonus when worn by someone else). They all tend to be things that the characters would be interested in wearing, or that they ''do'' wear -- and then there's [[TakeAThirdOption the incredibly useful gothic Lolita attire by Princess K of the bunny realm]]. Both Neku and Joshua (but not Beat) receive huge bonuses from certain dresses, skirts, and heels. Just to make sure you'll dress them in women's wear, there are numerous women's wear items that ''only'' provide a bonus when worn by Neku or Joshua, and the bonuses are ''considerable''. You read that correctly: the game is ''actively encouraging you'' to send two fifteen year old boys into battle in pumps, a cape, and a skirt. One of the first unlockable items at Lapin Angelique is the "Frilly Parasol," which only benefits Joshua. * CrosshairAware: The Kangaroo Noise, along with the shark and the elephant. * CriticalStatusBuff: Various clothing items (primarily from the "Lapin Angelique" brand) provide status buffs when the wearer is low on HP. Combine these with pins that place Neku in critical HP at the start of battle and you have the "[[FanNickname Lapin Angelique]] [[FunWithAcronyms Suicidal Special]]" and can strike ForMassiveDamage.* CrutchCharacter: Shiki has elements of this. Since female clothing has high bravery requirements, she begins with a high bravery stat, making her easier to equip than Neku, Joshua, and Beat. Her attack chain also has frames of invincibility at the end, making ButtonMashing for the top screen a more viable strategy.** Doubles as foreshadowing, as Shiki ''is'' the bravest of the characters and the only one to win the game in one round. The first boss fight against the Game Master mentions this, as Shiki has undergone obvious CharacterDevelopment. * CurseCutShort: ** (Neku, thinking) "Maybe if just for one minute you could stop your bi--" Beat, however calls plenty of things "bitch"es later in the game.** And in the manga: "Look, enough of this sh--''OW!!!''"* CutsceneIncompetence:** A few examples, but in particular is Week 2, Day 2, during the Tin Pin Slammer Tournament. You can know how to play Tin Pin and cruise through the tutorial and the first round with Yammer, but in the second round Shooter whips out his "Inn-PINCIBLE" ultimate pin Red Kaiser, and Neku loses instantly. The player has no say in this.* CutscenePowerToTheMax: ** Neku [[spoiler:force-chokes Shiki]] using Psychokinesis early on, but you cannot invoke this power in battle later, even against Reapers. You ''can'' get Psychokinesis pins that let you grab enemies as well as obstacles, but the first Psychokinesis pin is ''not'' one of them, and none of them damage the enemy just by lifting them, either. Lifting an enemy and shaking it violently, however, is both cathartic and a form of attack. Take that, porcupine! ** In Week 2, Joshua single-handedly erases a Taboo rhino. Even after you acquire the psych he used during the cutscene, erasing the same Noise with a single Jesus Beam during a conventional battle is impossible. However, Kariya warned the pair that if they used that level of power [[spoiler:(indicative of Joshua apparently still being alive)]] again, he wouldn't turn a blind eye. Joshua's holding back, so that's why he can't waste rhinos in one shot anymore.** On the final day, Mr. Mew duplicates himself outside of battle during a cutscene, when he has only otherwise been able to do so during Shiki's fusion attack.* DamageSpongeBoss: Ovis Cantus (Higashizawa) has 8000 HP. Leo Cantus has 3141 while Tigris Cantus has 4444. Both are fought much later in the game, and Tigris Cantus is fought on the final day.** Oddly, Ovis Cantus is one of the easier bosses, as he largely remains stationary. Other bosses with 4000-5000 or so hit points are often ''much'' more difficult due to their status as a GetBackHereBoss and vary from "frustrating" to "impossible" based on a player's combat style.* DarkSkinnedBlond: Nao and Sota. Joshua also shows signs of this trope.* DeaderThanDead: Anyone who gets "erased." The First Law of Resurrections is in use, though: if the author wants anyone to come back, it's possible. The secret reports detail the nature and rules of the game.* DeadlyEuphemism: Everyone is "erased" by the Noise. [[spoiler:However, this becomes a SubvertedTrope when you learn that you're DeadToBeginWith, and that Erasure ''[[CessationOfExistence erases you out of existence]]'', rather than being a euphemism for death.]]** According to the Secret Reports, [[spoiler:erasure is only erasure from ''physical existence''. The Soul is separated from its mind and body and becomes a part of the UG. By organizing it according to a certain code it can take on any imaginable form, but only the Composer has enough Imagination to rearrange it as a human being]]. This explains [[spoiler:Rhyme]]'s erasure: [[spoiler:her Soul was dispersed and her body vanished. Mr Hanekoma coded it into the form of a pin, which Beat and Neku both used to code her Soul into Noise form. Eventually, the Composer returned her Soul to its original human code, as we see in the ending.]]* DeadpanSnarker: Joshua, along with his {{Jerkass}} status. Neku's also good at this. * [[spoiler:DeadToBeginWith]] [[spoiler:The players are dead and playing for a second chance at life. Neku is unaware of this, though, due to his amnesia]].* DeathsHourglass: The timers for each mission.* DefrostingIceQueen: ''Every'' shopkeeper you meet is a StepfordSmiler at best and a Jerkass at worst when you first encounter them (with one or two exceptions). As you build up a rapport with each one, however, they give you increasingly better service, including access to stuff in the stock room and tips about your current gear. Several even start to become attracted to Neku.** The inverse of this is [[spoiler:Makoto when he re-opens Shadow Ramen. When the player reaches 100%, he starts becoming worried that Neku only shows up to see him.]]* DemonicDummy: Mr. Mew, but only implied. Since all the media related to the game make him out to be cute, we'll tell you the creepy part now--Shiki just levitates Mr. Mew; she ''does not'' control the thing. And why is that? Shiki animated him via ''something'' called "[[BlackMagic psychomancy]]".** [[http://twewy.wikia.com/wiki/Shiki According to the TWEWY Wiki]], the Japanese manual mentions that Shiki uses a pin called Groove Pawn with the Psychokinesis psych to animate Mr. Mew. As an aside, Beat uses the pin Respect with a Shockwave psych that he activates with his skateboard. Joshua... probably just does his own thing.* DenserAndWackier: The manga is more of a parody than an actual adaptation of the game.* DePower: [[spoiler:Joshua, to make the "game" he's playing fair.]]* DevilInDisguise: The Hidden Secret Reports reveal that [[spoiler:Sanae Hanekoma is a fallen angel that gave the taboo powers to Sho Minamimoto. But then, considering Sho was opposed to the Composer's whole "wipe Shibuya" plan...]]* DifficultyLevels: You can earn Easy Mode rather quickly, Hard a bit later, and [[HarderThanHard Ultimate]] upon completing the game. You can change the difficulty at any point in the game, (being defeating in battle even gives the option of redoing it on Easy), the difference being [[RandomDrops item drops]]. In addition, you can choose to lower your own CharacterLevel to make item drops more likely, as well as brag on the Bestiary.* DifficultySpike: Regarding the first Tin Pin Stride challenge in [[spoiler:Beat]]'s week. It's devilishly difficult in comparison to the previous one, being the first one with full player roster (four, including Neku) and enemies having superhuman reflexes.* DirtyMindReading: You can do this to the surrounding NPC's.* DiscOneFinalBoss: Everything in the game seems to build up to it being done when you defeat [[spoiler:Higashizawa]]. After all, it's [[spoiler:The 7th day, when the Reaper's Game is supposed to be done]]. However, after defeating him, [[spoiler:Neku wakes up on the first day... of a ''new'' Reaper's Game]]. Finished? [[YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle Not at all]]. [[spoiler: Yet ironically enough, he IS the Final Boss of Another Day, not including the two True Final Bosses.]]** [[spoiler:Pig Butoh on Pork City's 13th floor. A unique Pig that can fight back on its own; seems fitting for the final Pig in the game? No; once you beat him, you need to beat the king: Pig Mazurka, a {{Flunky|Boss}} MetalSlime who can get away pretty quick on the bottom screen. Oh, and after beating him? You fight ''Panthera Cantus''.]]* {{Dismotivation}}: Kariya intentionally avoids a promotion so he can relax and hang out with Yashiro. Which does NOT mean that he isn't any good at his job. Holy hell, that guy's tough.* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[spoiler:It may have been noticed Joshua was fishy, but it was not expected for him to be ''the Composer''.]]** [[spoiler:In Another Day, the ''Tutorial Guy'' implies that he manipulated everything to get the Omega Slammer created. Then he reveals he's Shinji Hashimoto himself.]]** DoubleSubverted; [[spoiler:Neku thinks Joshua kills him at first, discovers he didn't and regrets accusing Joshua after his HeroicSacrifice, and then he discovers on the final day that he really ''did'' kill him.]]* DoomyDoomsOfDoom: Higashizawa's infamous "Pudding of Their Doom." Perhaps he's related to [[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi Fawful]].* DoubleEntendre: Joshua uses these frequently. Usually doubles with HoYay. One among many, many cases:-->"You watch my behind, I'll watch yours."* TheDragon: ** Konishi, and depending on how you slice it, [[spoiler:Neku]].** Subverted with Megumi Kitaniji: at first, the Game Masters seem to be TheDragon to his BigBad, but as you progress through the storyline, it seems that he himself is TheDragon to the Composer. At the end of the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon, you fight Kitaniji, enter a suitably ominous room for the final boss fight, and do battle with [[spoiler:Kitaniji's OneWingedAngel form]]. [[spoiler:Once he's gone, the Composer turns out to be TheUnfought.]]* DroppedABridgeOnHim[=/=]DeathByIrony: [[spoiler:The last time we see Sho Minamimoto, he himself has been "crunched" by some unknown attacker and made a part of one of his signature [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible garbage heap "sculptures"]].]]** While we're on the topic of DeathByIrony, a {{subver|tedTrope}}ion would be [[spoiler:Shiki. She gets her right to come back to life, only to become Neku's second entry-fee. You only see her again at the end of Week 3, the game's GrandFinale.]]* DualBoss: ** Since bosses are generally the only monster you ever don't have to fight two of (sometimes, you have to fight two of them as well), you get thrown by the Grindcore Minks and Kariya and Yashiro. Especially the Minks, as you are fighting four at once. ''They have combo moves, too.'' [[spoiler:Mr. Hanekoma's Noise form also qualifies, since you fight a different boss on each screen.]]** Kariya and Yashiro in their berserk form are one of the hardest fights in the game due to them being a DualBoss... they even have their own light puck. Yashiro deals an insane amount of damage with her gun and frequently teleports before your partner can hit her, Kariya ''levitates'', and then, just when you think you've won, Yashiro enters stage left and begins attacking again.* EasilyForgiven: ** Subverted to a degree. [[spoiler:Neku's ending monologue is addressed to Joshua, accusing him of not understanding how painful those three weeks were for him emotionally, forcing him to trust people through life-or-death situations, and how he basically used him. However, Neku still trusts him and considers him a friend, but he can't forgive him for all that he's done.]] ** Shiki forgives Neku quite quickly for [[spoiler:trying to kill her]] on Day 2, even shifting blame to ''herself''. She later apologizes to him for being "too harsh" when scolding him for seeming uncaring about [[spoiler:Rhyme being erased]] on Day 4. ** Neku and Beat don't bring up the fact that Kariya and Uzuki [[spoiler:were responsible for Rhyme's erasure]]. When Beat has a [[spoiler: HeelFaceTurn and talks to them more often]], he doesn't really mention it to them either.* ElegantGothicLolita: Princess K, and most of the Lapin Angelique threads she sells. Lapin Angelique's tagline is even "Gothic and Lolita".* EmbarrassingFirstName: (Daisukenojo) Beat.* EmbarrassingRescue: Neku actually says that pissing the rescuees off is the whole point.* EmergencyTransformation: Half-way through Shiki's week, [[spoiler:Rhyme is erased while saving Beat from a Noise trap set by Uzuki and Kariya]]. [[spoiler:In order to save both Rhyme and Beat, Mr Hanekoma reorganizes Rhyme's Soul into the form of a Noise pin and convinces Beat to make a pact with the pin to stay alive.]] She's human again by the time the credits roll.* EmpathyPet: The Noise that sits on Beat's shoulder mimics his behaviour and emotions exactly.* [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The End Of Shibuya As We Know It]]: Subverted when Neku learns that [[spoiler:[[NiceJobBreakingItHero his winning the Game was all part of the Composer's plan to destroy Shibuya]]. Doubly Subverted when the Joshua decides to spare Shibuya after all.]]* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Futoshi, 777's concert technician. Throughout the main story, he's referred to as "the tech", but you learn his name in the bonus chapter.* [[invoked]] EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory: It's the game's premise, although the trope itself is relentlessly mocked -- for every instance of obvious allegory, there's plenty of wall-leaning and player-directed snark.* EverythingsBetterWithPenguins: Or rather, [[CallARabbitASmeerp popguins]].* EvilTastesGood: GM Higashizawa loves making food-based puns. "The pudding of their doom", huh? That's just [[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga fawful]], dude. "I'll char your bones black!" "Now we're ''boiling!''"** [[LetsGetDangerous "We've preheated LONG ENOUGH!!"]]* TheEvilsOfFreeWill: [[spoiler:Kitaniji's motivation on his AssimilationPlot.]]* EvilVersusEvil: [[spoiler:Kitaniji vs. Joshua, arguably.]] * EyeBeams: Shiki's max fusion level, Mr. Mew becomes a giant and shoots eye beams from below.* ExecutiveMeddling: In-universe. [[spoiler: Mick gets The Prince to sign a contract with him to let him rig The Prince's blog to draw people to Shadow Ramen.]]* FailureKnight: [[spoiler:Beat.]]* [[FairyBattle Fairy Metal]] [[MetalSlime Slime Battle]]: The Pig Noise.* FakeDifficulty: Justified, as the Reapers actually love throwing arbitrary restrictions your way.* FallenAngel: In the Secret Reports, there are mentions of a Fallen Angel who [[spoiler:gave info to Minamimoto regarding Taboo Noise, and helped revive him during the third week. The final Secret Report reveals that Hanekoma is the fallen angel, who helped Minamimoto in an effort to save Shibuya.]]* FamousLastWords: "But Neku, I thought you couldn't afford to lose. Give up on yourself, and you give up on the world." [[spoiler:Joshua, although they were definitely not his last words]].* {{Fangirl}}: Singer and fashion idol Eiji Oji's fan squad. There's actually [[SeriousBusiness opposing factions]] of his fans in [[AlternateUniverse Another Day]]. These factions then switch to worshipping indie rockstar 777, with one vowing [[ItsPopularNowItSucks "And then...when they go major...I'll be there to complain about how they sold out!"]].* FightWoosh: Of all the tropes to be {{justified|Trope}}, you would probably not expect this one. But it is. [[spoiler:As the Secret Reports reveal, battles take place in an alternate dimension.]]* FiveManBand: Neku's group in Another Day -- [[{{The Hero}} Shuto]], [[{{The Lancer}} Neku]], [[{{The Smart Guy}} Joshua]], [[{{The Big Guy}} Beat]], and [[{{The Chick}} Shiki]]. Of course, they also have a SixthRangerTraitor as well.* FlunkyBoss: In addition to most of the minor, required Noise bosses you fight early on, there's also Verspetilio Canor, Cornix Canor, Sho Minimimoto/Leo Cantus, Pteroptus Canor, and Tigris Cantus (especialy her first phase.) Also, Pig Mazurka, the king of the Pig Noise.* {{Foil}}: Beat to Neku; [[AllThereInTheManual the game manual even tells you]] that they're opposites. Also Rhyme to Beat, though in a different way.* {{Foreshadowing}}: Frequently. For example: remember the scene in Josh Week, Day 2, where Uzuki pulls out a gun and suggests popping over to the RG to "recruit" more Players? [[spoiler:That's ''exactly'' what the Composer did to get his proxy for the Game. With the ''exact same kind of gun''.]]** Watch the opening sequence very carefully after you've beaten the game the first time. ''It spoils the whole plot'', but in such a cryptic way most people never notice they're being spoiled.* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Subverted with [[spoiler:Joshua]], because [[spoiler:downtuning his vibe automatically gave him a human appearance]]. Played more straight with the Reapers, who appear in the Realground without their wings.* FormulaicMagic: Minamimoto is all over this one.* FourIsDeath: There are 4 Reaper Officers, and Tigris Cantus' (Konishi's Noise-Form) HP is 4444.* FourEyesZeroSoul: Megumi Kitaniji and Mitsuki Konishi.** Possibly averted with Kitaniji. The fact that his entire plan is to [[spoiler:save the soul and essence of Shibuya by conforming everyone so that the city may be saved for another Composer]] says a lot about his character.* FragileSpeedster: Cornix Canor is fast and evasive, but he has extremely low HP for a boss.* FreudianSlip: Possibly when Joshua [[spoiler:calls Neku by name]], ''then'' asks what it is. Since Neku doesn't notice and this didn't happen in the original Japanese version, it may be just as well be a translation error as {{Foreshadowing}} that [[spoiler:Joshua has seen him before]].* FromBadToWorse: At the end of the game things are spiraling out of control -- [[spoiler:Rhyme is gone, her Pin is in the hands of a person who will destroy it if you don't win the Reaper's Game, the third week Joshua is "dead" and shiki is your entry fee, and now after you get everyone back you find out that Joshua is really the Composer, and then the Conductor, in one last resort, turns into a more powerful Noise form by absorbing every one of your partners, leaving you to fight him alone.]]* FunWithAcronyms: ** One of Minamimoto's things is to say "SOHCAHTOA" ([[GeniusBonus a mnemonic for basic trigonometric functions]]) [[VoiceGrunting out loud]] while reciting in the text some contrived statement that fits the acronym. This is also a subversion of LostInTranslation and {{Pun}}, in which Minamimoto makes a pun on "''Sou ka?''" or "Is that so?"** ''Some Old Horses Can Always Hear Their Owner Approaching.'' Said to Joshua. Minamimoto seems to be saying "I know that [[spoiler:you're the Composer]]."** (When asked what he eats) "Slabs of Ham, Celery and Horseradish, Tons of Asparagus."* GainaxEnding: Immediately subverted with the option to [[NewGamePlus play through the game again]] and fill in those gaps. TheStinger earned by filling in those gaps, however, [[DoubleSubversion manages to Gainax it back up]]. The ''main character's'' reaction to the ending is [[spoiler:"WHAT THE HELL?!"]]; he reacts that way because he thinks [[spoiler:he's been enrolled in the Game once again]]. He is mistaken and the credits show that.* GambitPileup: The plot is the result of more than one mastermind squaring off against each other. The post-game OneHundredPercentCompletion quests exist just to reveal what the hell is going on.** Behold, the motives of all the Officers and their seniors -- [[spoiler:Joshua wants to destroy Shibuya as judgment on humanity, Kitanji is trying to stop him with an AssimilationPlot, Sanae wants to stop both of them, Minamimoto has been given Taboo powers by Sanae for his plans but would rather become Composer, Konishi wants to be Conductor and will manipulate anyone for that purpose, and Higashizawa just wants to help Kitanji]].** Example XG: [[spoiler:the O-pins.]]* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: ** Joshua points out that Taboo Noise can only be hurt when you have the light puck. Kariya and Uzuki [[MirrorBoss also have a light puck]], which explains why they don't get their asses handed to them by Taboo Noise.** At the beginning of week 3, [[spoiler:how does the game show that having no partner renders the Reapers' Game UnwinnableByDesign? By disabling your pins so you can't do anything besides move and escape. Neku himself points out that he can simply run away from every battle (and you, the player, can indeed escape standard Noise encounters at will) but the moment a mission forces him to fight, he's screwed (because his pins won't work).]]* GameplayAndStorySegregation: In-story, it's treated as either extremely anomalous or a mark of involvement in the Reapers' Game if an NPC's mind can't be read. In-game, there are generally more [=NPCs=] without thoughts to be read than there are ones that do.** In-story, almost every mission has it's time limit, and failing to fulfill tasks in time results in facing Erasure. In-game, there is no time limit of any kind, and you can grind your level and pins as long as you want to.* GenderBlenderName: Shiki, Makoto, Sanae, and Kitanji, the last of whom was apparently teased as a child for being named Megumi. Might explain a lot of things.* GenericGraffiti: Inverted, as the game's graffiti is mostly CAT's doing with only a few generic tags appearing, and none of it is specifically relevant to the story. [[spoiler:Except for the bit where Neku was killed (thus becoming the Composers's proxy) because he was standing admiring CAT's mural.]]** [[spoiler:It's revealed in the secret reports that CAT's murals attract those with a lot of imagination, and this was the reason why Joshua selected Neku (amongst other reasons) to be his proxy.]]* GenreBusting: Although it's commonly classified as an ActionRPG, the combat, particularly on the bottom screen, is quite reminiscent of belt-scrolling [[BeatEmUp Beat 'em Ups]].* GeometricMagic: With graffiti, obviously.* GetBackHereBoss: Several of the bosses, particularly ones who like to teleport, such as Uzuki and [[spoiler:Reaper Beat]], as well as [[spoiler:Taboo Minamimoto]]. Cornix Canor also has a tendency to stay offscreen for 90% of the battle, only flying by every once in a while.* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: ...Where do we start?** The thought-read titled "Missionary", where a girl is thinking enthusiastically about how she'll "[[BGataHKei make 100 people happy today!]]".** "He's the latest superstar, people love his don't-give-a-damn attitude. His blog, [[ClusterFBomb F Everything]], gets 100,000 hits a day!" ([[SubvertedTrope Don't worry]], the F stands for something else.)** The MC's comments on Joshua in the finals in the Tin Pin Slammer tournament in Another Day: "[[DoubleEntendre When he sees a hole, he knows how to fill it!]]"** In a conversation with Sota in Another Day, who turns out to be [[spoiler: Neku's hairstylist]], he says that Neku used to bring clippings. Joshua immediately summarizes those conversations with the assumption that Neku used to say, and I quote, ''"Do me like this"''.** The lyrics to ''Give Me All Your Love'':-->[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything "Feel me when you come inside, Touch me when you want me anytime"]]* GigglingVillain: Konishi and, arguably, [[spoiler:Joshua]].* GiveMeYourInventoryItem: Averted. While Wall Reapers will sometimes demand food, they'll never take it, usually being disgusted by what you brought them.* GlassCannon: Beat. Even if his attack and defense stats are equal with Shiki's or Joshua's, he'll still give and receive more damage than them, respectively. His Fusion, which can potentially charge up the fastest, also has the potential to damage him if you screw up.* TheGlassesComeOff: When Konishi transforms into Tigris Cantus.* GlowingEyesOfDoom: [[spoiler:When everyone in Shibuya is possessed by the O-Pins.]] And mentioning Ken Doi's involvement in [[spoiler:the development of Tin Pin]].* GodWasMyCopilot: [[spoiler:Joshua, Neku's partner for the second week, is the Composer. Also Mr. Hanekoma, who's actually even ''higher'' rank than Josh.]]* GoodWingsEvilWings: Reapers have black, angular wings. However, rather than being bat wings, they're hard-edged and have no feathers or webbing whatsoever, looking more like a wing skeleton made out of iron. [[spoiler:Angels, of course, have the standard white feathered wings. However, Angels are a bit more morally ambiguous than you'd expect]].* GoodWithNumbers: Minamimoto cranks this one [[UpToEleven up to root 121]].* GottaCatchThemAll: There are 96 types of Noise to fight, 304 Pins to find and master, and [[UpToEleven 472 items in general to collect]]. Good luck getting OneHundredPercentCompletion.* GratuitousEnglish: Grammatically the official lyrics to the songs are all fine, but the singer seems to pronounce every other word wrong and the singer seems to skip many of the words and sing a few out of order. "Hybrid" is hit with this hard, [[SurprisinglyGoodEnglish but there are still some pretty good ones.]]** Every time "You have 7 days" shows up in the English version, it's "Timelimit within 7 days" in the Japanese version.* GuideDangIt: The game never tells you which type of PP you need to evolve pins, so you need a guide in order to keep from screwing evolutions up by getting too much of the wrong types.** This is especially true for the Approaching Eden set, which will get stuck in an endless loop if you only evolve them with battle PP (the final pin will always evolve back to the first one in the line). Like every pin set, you need all (five) of them to get the full benefits, which makes this quirk especially annoying. In the Japanese version of the game, the last Approaching Eden pin would evolve into ''a one yen pin.'' A devastating punishment for... not having a guide.** Also, each character has different reactions to eating different kinds of foods. If the character likes it, the Sync boost that he or she gets from it will increase; if he or she doesn't like it, the boost decreases instead. You're not given any hints for this until you actually feed the character, except for when Joshua mentions that he likes Shio Ramen which gives him the biggest Sync boost possible and the can of coke [[spoiler:left at the memorial in Miyashita Park Underpass]] for Beat, which gives him the increased sync boost,* HalfheartedHenchman: Some of the Support Reapers are lazy, incompetent slackers. [[spoiler:For one of them, this is a good thing, as he ends up the only NPC in all of Shibuya who escapes the {{Assimilation Plot}} just because he ditched work one day.]]* HandWave: On the final day and in the AlternateUniverse bonus chapter, [[spoiler:Shiki still looks like Eri]]. If you seek out Joshua in the bonus chapter before you go to Molco, he explains it (vaguely, as always) as a trick of the mind; that is, you expect to see the same thing you always have. This is a bit of a NoFourthWall moment, too, since it's closer to addressing the player--Neku would of course have ''no'' idea what the hell he's talking about. In fact, his first thought is "Is this kid high?"** And then he proceeds to give the ''real'' explanation: "[[CosmicDeadline When you're drowning in a sea of work with not enough time]], why pour your soul into assets that will be used all of...what, once?" Neku still thinks that he's high.* HarderThanHard: Above Hard difficulty is Ultimate difficulty, in which enemy Noise are at their most powerful, but will also generally drop better Pins than on any other difficulty.* HeavyMetalUmlaut: '''Def Märch'''.* HeWasRightThereAllAlong: [[spoiler:Konishi during the third week, hides in Beat's shadow in order to trick him into panicking and making a mistake due to the pressure of his impending erasure.]]* HeadphonesEqualIsolation: Played straight with Neku, but extremely inverted in Kitaniji.** Not as much of an inversion in Kitaniji's case as it may seem; [[spoiler:it's actually a subtle clue that his plan involves false unity]].* HeadsIWinTailsYouLose: The battles against [[spoiler:Reaper Beat]], which end with him getting away even if you can actually defeat him.** The Shibuya's Game is one plot-wise as well. Lose to Megumi, and he turns all the people in Shibuya into a HiveMind. Defeat Megumi, and [[spoiler:the real Composer wins the Game and destroys Shibuya.At least until Neku's feelings of trust persuade him to do a HeelFaceTurn.]]* TheHeartless: The Noise are manifestations of negative thoughts and emotions. Either that, or they're artificially created by Reapers. Which means they're more [[Franchise/KingdomHearts Unversed than Heartless]].* HeroicSacrifice: Played straight when [[spoiler:Rhyme pushes Beat out of the way of a [[GameplayAndStorySegregation shark noise that "eats" and instantly erases her]]]]. Subverted when [[spoiler:Beat tries to push Rhyme out of the way of a car -- both get hit and die, leading them to become players in the Game]]. Also subverted when [[spoiler:Joshua pushes Neku out of the way and takes the brunt of Minamimoto's final attack himself -- it eventually turns out to be neither heroic nor a sacrifice]].* HeroicWillpower: Beat, [[spoiler:facing erasure on the last day, fights it off through sheer willpower, fuelled by his [[HeroicResolve desire to save his sister]]]].* HistoryRepeats: Neku's waking up in the Scramble Crossing at the beginning of each week. Rhyme's [[spoiler:death]] and [[spoiler:erasure]] were intentionally reminiscent of each other, as well, as were Neku's [[spoiler:death at the hands of]] and [[spoiler:duel against Joshua]].* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:Konishi turns Noise!Rhyme into a pin and uses it to manipulate Beat's feelings. Due to the way her boss fight works, you will always kill her with the Rhyme Pin itself.]]* HopelessBossFight: The three fights against [[spoiler:Reaper Beat]] and the one against [[spoiler:Taboo Minamimoto]] are [[GameplayAndStorySegregation only played as hopeless]]--the only actual restriction is time. On your first playthrough you simply have to stay alive for that long, while on a NewGamePlus you can easily beat then within said time limit. Said NewGamePlus also includes [[BonusBoss special optional battles]] against them with no time limit.* HugeSchoolgirl: It's up to you to decide if it's just the [[http://pics.livejournal.com/cherubi/pic/0011aq3p/g146 angle of the shot]] (big spoilers on the other side of that link), but [[spoiler:RG Shiki]] seems to compete with Beat in height in the ending credits.* HumanityOnTrial: This is the entire point of the Reaper's Game, except it happens city by city instead of the whole world at once. This current Shibuya Game isn't quite typical for other reasons...* HurricaneOfPuns: Any time Higashizawa speaks, playing off his chef quirk. Especially his boss fight. ** Any time Minamimoto speaks will be a hurricane of math puns.* HyperactiveMetabolism: Averted. The characters can only eat a limited amount of food for each 24-hour real time period, and they have to digest it by battling. Even more realistically, you can eat anything that's six bytes or less without limit--Neku and company can literally eat ice cream and drink coffee all day.** Played straight later if you get the Hollow Leg swag which removes the limit. Very useful for grinding.* IAmNotLeftHanded: [[spoiler:Joshua]] reveals some of his true powers during his Day 5, which gives his combat abilities a definite offensive boost.* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels: From easy to hard: "[[SublimeRhyme Face the Noise, Erase the Noise, Hush the Noise, Crush the Noise.]]" Erase the Noise is default.** Those are only descriptions, though. The names are the more basic Easy, Normal, Hard, and Ultimate.* IdleAnimation: The main characters have some when left to idle (e.g. Neku listen to music, Shiki checking out her phone) as well as some enemies (e.g. a Joey popping out of a 2-step Boomer's poach, Electro J-Popguins flapping its wings in place).* IgnoredEnemy: When you see [[spoiler:Taboo Sho]] for the first time, it's possible to try walking around him. Once you're past him, [[WhatTheHellPlayer he chides you for ignoring him when he's right there]], and the encounter proceeds normally.* ImpossiblyCoolClothes: Everyone. Every Player, every Reaper, every 2-bit NPC walking down the street is covered head to toe with expensive, gorgeous, and pointless designer toggery. But, this ''is'' Shibuya.** It's also hard to believe you get outright {{Stripperiffic}} outfits like Shiki's in the same time and place as heavy, black hoodies like BJ's. Certain thought fragments imply that the game takes place in the summertime and others imply that it's winter, but there are plenty of highly impractical outfits for both seasons. Stores will also sell both summer- and winter-wear to you.* ImprobableWeaponUser: Everyone. Pins are most Players' WeaponOfChoice, but they can also be used to control other items as weapons, such as Shiki's plushie, playing cards, or [=SUVs=].* IncrediblyLamePun: Some of the [[NoCommunitiesWereHarmed renamed locations]]--Tower Records becoming "Towa Records" ''leaps'' to mind.** Food being consumed in "bytes".** Neku says one, worried about the nature of the "piggy".-->"What if it's possessed--waiting to pork chop us in the back of the head?"* IneffectualLoner: Neku.* INeverToldYouMyName: One of the reasons an attentive player will quickly realize [[spoiler:Joshua]] is much more than he seems.** When trying to get Neku's attention, he says Neku's name before Neku ever says it. Since Neku was surprised about being able to scan him, he didn't notice the slip up. Immediately after, he asks Neku to introduce himself so that he has Neku's name. ** In the Japanese version, he will say "Neku-kun, yoroshiku" at the start of battle, even if that's their first battle, before any conversation between them.* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: Reapers BJ and Tenho look exactly like all of their coworkers, to the point where [[EpilepticTrees some have theorized]] that they just have the ability to duplicate themselves (despite evidence -- like the Reaper Review guy retiring and the slacker who didn't attend the emergency meeting -- proving they're all individuals). Considering that the Wall Reapers don't show that much of their face (Tenho-style reapers only show their jaw, BJ-style reapers don't even show that), it's possible that they actually are several different people in identical outfits.* InfinityPlusOneSword: The Darklit Planet pins. If all six are put in one deck, their attack power triples and they become some of the deadliest pins in the game. However, [[spoiler:Hanekoma]] only sells you one of the six pins, and you have to find the rest either by defeating Noise and getting the pins from random drops, or using Mingle shops. [[spoiler:God help you if you can't find the one that comes off of Panthera Cantus.]]** The [[spoiler:Angel Feather]] is amazing too, but it needs a whopping 999 bravery.* InnocuouslyImportantEpisode: [[spoiler:The mission in the first week to get the red skull pin popular, and we later learn that it was instrumental to Kitaniji's plot.]]* InsufferableGenius: Minamimoto, who loves to use math terminology and repeat mnemonics. (Did he really just call Neku a "hectopascal"?)** Joshua, as well. Not only is he a clever young man, with knowledge of Shibuya's history, and one of the only people in Shibuya who can make sense of Sho's rantings, he's also a smarmy {{Jerkass}} who loves pissing Neku off whenever he can.* IntercourseWithYou: "Give Me All Your Love" has surprisingly explicit lyrics. [[spoiler:'Enjoy the moment,' indeed.]]* InterfaceSpoiler: The first big [[TheReveal reveal]] comes as a lot less of a surprise when you notice that [[spoiler:the save screen directly specifies 'Day X, ''Week 1''.]]** It's likely that later pressings of the game were aware of this, as the save screen [[spoiler:says the name of the partner, followed by the day number.]]* InvertedPortrait: In the opening, Shiki is shown upside-down next to mirror image of her right-side up. [[spoiler:This is an outright [[SpoilerOpening spoiler]] that can only be seen in hindsight. Shiki has Eri's appearance, so there really are two Shikis. [[MindScrew We're confused too]].]]* InvisibleToNormals: The Players, the Reapers and the Noise are all invisible to normal people. The Players can be seen if they go into shops, and the Reapers are also said to be visible in the real world except for their wings. Interestingly, scanning will reveal some random NPC's can notice some of these phenomena - probably due to latent PsychicPowers or something.* IronicHell: For one thing, [[spoiler:they're all dead]]; and besides, to play the Game, a Player lays their [[EquivalentExchange most precious possession]] on the line; this can be anything from [[spoiler:people]] to [[spoiler:memories]], and you don't even get to choose it. It's what the Conductor considers what you value most, or what's most convenient for him to take. It's especially ironic for the misanthropic Neku, who now has to actually deal with the same person for seven days straight and even read people's most inane thoughts.* IrrelevantImportance: Try to sell certain pins, and you'll be told they're too precious to sell ("worth more than all the yen in the world"). Given that one of these pins is a PoisonMushroom, after you complete the mission that requires it, it doesn't seem nearly that priceless after all, but you still can't sell it, even after you've got dozens of them. After all, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation it's plot-important.]]* IrrelevantSidequest: Some Wall Reapers block Neku's path until he finds a microphone for them. Neku later refers to the ordeal as "the detour from hell." Doing the quest for some Wall Reapers is also often not necessary -- sometimes they don't even clear the wall.* ItIsBeyondSaving: [[spoiler:Joshua]] thinks this about Shibuya at the beginning of the game. [[spoiler: He changes his mind later though.]]* ItsPopularNowItSucks: In-universe example: "I'll be off listening to bands you kids have never even heard of! And then...when they go major...[[LampshadeHanging I'll be there to complain about how they sold out]]!"* ItsUpToYou: Averted. A few missions are completed by other Players. Neku and his partner usually still contribute to those missions, however, though Joshua is inclined to [[BystanderSyndrome let someone else deal with it]].* IWillWaitForYou: Shiki. [[spoiler:Cruelly subverted when she's made Neku's entry fee for the second week.]]** Less obvious but still there, Neku waiting for [[spoiler:Joshua]] to meet him at Hachiko. [[spoiler:He never shows up.]]* JediMindTrick: Meme imprinting can subtly steer people's thinking in a direction of your choice.* {{Jerkass}}: Joshua, at least, is aware of his status as the resident jerk, and most of his act is on purpose. ''Kitaniji'', on the other hand...** Neku is one early on, typically ignoring or being rude to Shiki or the other players much of the time. Rhyme is the only fellow player who isn't repulsed by this.* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Beat, during the third week. Neku also evolves into one, going from someone who doesn't care about other people to someone who does care for others, but sometimes loses patience with Joshua's JerkAss tendencies and Beat's [[IdiotHero moments of stupidity]]* JigsawPuzzlePlot or KudzuPlot: It depends on how you look at it.* KarmicTransformation: While she wasn't transformed into something she ''hated'', [[spoiler:Shiki's entry fee was her own appearance, resulting into her transformation into her best friend she sorely envied]].* KatanasAreJustBetter: You can buy a (dull) samurai sword accessory that confers an incredible bonus to Attack.* {{Kawaiiko}}: Nao doesn't dress like a little kid, but she's a cutesy kogal through and through, giving everyone [[TastesLikeDiabetes unbearably sweet]] nicknames. In fact, you can call her "Nao-Nao". For ''short''.** [[http://twewy.wikia.com/wiki/Atarashi_Koko Coco]] from ''Solo Remix'' plays this straight, though.* KeepItForeign: One thought fragment, entitled "English," is written in Japanese in the English version of the game (it was presumably written in English in the original Japanese version). This results in a DubInducedPlothole where a supposedly English-speaking tourist who is ''thinking in Japanese'' worries about how he's going to get the Japanese locals to understand him.* {{Kiai}}: Presumbly the only reason Minamimoto would be shouting things like "SINE", "COSINE" at you as he attacks... Most bosses have grunts and other phrases they say as well.* KickTheDog: Kitaniji and Konishi apparently play soccer with canines, while fouling ''flagrantly'', on weekends.* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: Neku's first day of the third week has this in the hands of Kariya and Uzuki. Luckily, [[spoiler:Beat is not gonna tolerate this move, starting his HeelFaceTurn.]]* KidHero: Neku, Shiki, Joshua and Beat are all 15, according to the manual. [[spoiler:No idea how old Joshua actually ''is'', especially considering his true form, which looks much older.]]* KillerGameMaster: The Game Masters will hunt players on the final day of a game.* KillerRabbit: Pigs are usually [[MetalSlime harmless monsters with great rewards]]. However, there is one particular Pig Noise, Pig Butoh, that fights back, and it can kick your ass in seconds. It doesn't attempt to run away, since it doesn't need to. * KingIncognito: [[spoiler:The Composer's downtuning makes him unrecognizable to most, allowing him to accompany Neku during the second week almost completely unnoticed.]]* KingMook: The Canor bosses and Pig Mazurka.* KlingonPromotion: According to several cast members, if you take out the Composer, you get his job. This is confirmed by the secret reports, which are written by someone who had ''better'' know if that's true.* {{Lampshade Hanging}}: Several times in the manga, but a ''beautiful'' one is delivered by Kariya.-->'''Kariya:''' "Since we showed up in silhouette last time, you probably thought we were up to something ''dastardly''."* LargeAndInCharge: GM Higashizawa is a tower of a man by any definition, and his Noise form is larger than any regular Noise in the game, filling the whole bottom screen and only the head is visible on the top. Tellingly, his Noise form is a ram rather than a big cat (Minamimoto's is a lion, Konishi's a tiger, and [[spoiler:Sanae's is both]] - of course, Kitanji's a snake [[spoiler:and it's possible Joshua's is a dragon]]). The Conductor has a noise form that is so large, only the head and small bits of the body are visible[[spoiler:; and then he absorbs the Composer...]].* LargeHam: Hanekoma can be this, seen in his odd [[BattleCry Battle Cries]].-->[[spoiler: Panthera Cantus: '''''"Enjoy the MOMEEEEEEENT!!!"''''']]* LarynxDissonance: Admit it, when you first heard Joshua's voice, you were surprised that it was coming from the mouth of a 15 year old boy.* LaserGuidedAmnesia: The protagonist, as in all Square games. He actually has it twice!** [[spoiler:Rhyme]], too, lost a particularly important memory before the story starts; [[spoiler:that Beat is the older brother that she admires]]. Interestingly enough, [[spoiler:that memory was ''Beat's'' entry fee, not hers]].* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: Played with and invoked by some characters with the FiveManBand in Another Day. The leader (who is now Shooter instead of Neku) takes Red, Neku is first Black-n-Blue but later "demoted" to just Blue so someone else can be Black ([[spoiler:Black is TheMole]]), and Joshua first wants to be Pink, but then says he should actually be Gold and later gets "upgraded" to [[AmbiguouslyGay Rainbow]]. While Red is the one who fights [[spoiler: Higashizawa]] in the end, Blue is the one [[spoiler: Shinji Hashimoto]] chooses to fight.* LayeredWorld: Referred to here as "frequencies", in keeping with the music theme.* LimitBreak: In order to perform a Fusion attack the player must collect stars via the particular combo system each of Neku's partners use.* TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday: Shadow Ramen. Subverted later, as you can actually get it to reopen.* LostForever: The Pig Noise disappear forever once beaten, even during the NewGamePlus. If you sell one of the unique drops from the pigs in Pork City and save, there's no way to recover them without erasing your save file and restarting the game. Any -- no, ''everything'' else can be reacquired from somewhere (or can't be discarded in the first place).* LowLevelAdvantage: Powering down your characters gives you a higher chance of collecting rare item drops.* MadMathematician: Sho Minamimoto takes this UpToEleven.* MagicalCamera: Joshua's cell phone camera can take pictures of the past, and Neku's is later upgraded to be able to do the same.* TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler:Joshua behind Neku and Hanekoma behind Minamimoto.]]* ManicPixieDreamGirl: [[spoiler:Subverted with Shiki.]]* ManipulativeBastard: Konishi.** [[spoiler:Joshua]] qualifies as well.* ManlyTears: Beat, whenever [[spoiler:his involvement in Rhyme's death and erasure is brought up]].** Neku cries like this twice. First: [[spoiler:During his duel with Joshua. The truth of how he died, combined with the emotional strain of having to choose shooting a friend or losing Shibuya, reduces him to tears]]. Second: [[spoiler:When he wakes up in the Scramble for the last time and believes that he's still in the Game]].* {{Malaproper}}: Beat. Rhyme usually has to correct him.* MarkOfTheBeast: [[spoiler:Taboo Minamimoto.]]* MarkedChange: [[spoiler:Taboo Minamimoto.]]* MarketBasedTitle: As mentioned in the opening paragraphs, the game is titled "It's a Wonderful World" in Japan. The name was changed for North American release because every variant of the original title that [=SquareEnix=] could come up with was already trademarked.* MasterActor: Joshua. Everyone knew there was ''something'' he was hiding. "[[spoiler:I'm actually the Composer]]" was not expected.* MasterOfIllusion: Konishi, who is also, fittingly, a PuzzleBoss.* MeaningfulName: You can make up the kanji of kind-of relevant animals by taking and assembling parts of the kanji of many characters's names. Of particularly note is "Sanae Hanekoma": [[spoiler:not only can you make up the kanji for "cat", but it also contains the sounds "neko" (= "cat")... and, even better and MORE spoilery, "hane" is the kanji for "feather"]].** Joshua's name is full of possible allusions to [[spoiler:the fact that he's the Composer, God-like ruler of the Game, and "resurrects" at the end of the game]]. "Joshua" is [[spoiler:basically another name for Jesus]], "Yoshiya" contains the kanji for "justice", and "Kiryu" is written with the kanji for "Paulownia tree" and "life". (The Paulownia tree has legendary ties with the Phoenix bird of rebirth... and is also called [[AmbiguouslyGay The Princess Tree]], for extra giggles.)* {{Meganekko}}: Konishi is the "cold, untouchable" variety, rather than cute. [[spoiler:The real Shiki]] plays it more straight, with a shy, mousy appearance.* MegaNeko: Shiki's Third-level Fusion Attack. "Get 'em, Piggy!" indeed!* {{Meido}}: One NPC mistakes an actual maid for a waitress at a MaidCafe. You can also get a maid costume in the game.* MessianicArchetype: Despite the various religious references found in Joshua, the game's Messianic Archetype is actually Neku. [[spoiler:He is killed senselessly and put through a variety of trials, thrice sacrificing what he most treasures, but ultimately cleanses Shibuya of the "sins" for which the Composer would have destroyed it and is resurrected. He was hand-picked by the Game's God-figure, and gains at least two disciples (Shiki and Beat) over the course of his time in the UG.]]* MexicanStandoff: [[spoiler:After the final boss fight, Joshua forces Neku to have one of these with him to decide the fate of Shibuya. Neku falters though, and lets Joshua shoot him, which most likely means that the standoff was nothing but a test.]]* MindControl: A [[DownplayedTrope very minor]] version: during some missions you can find key words to imprint on people's minds. It doesn't change their mind entirely, but it can help prompt them into action if they're indecisive or have forgotten something.* MindOverMatter: The Psychokinesis psych gives Neku the ability to push or lift objects in the battlefield, and with certain pins, push or lift enemies. Joshua's basic fighting abilities also has him dropping objects such as road blocks, bicycles, and [=SUVs=] on enemies.* MindReading: The Player Pins gives the players of the Reaper Game to read the mains of those in the RG.* MindScrew: It actually takes a few plot twists from ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''.* MiniGame: Tin Pin Slammer.* MissingTrailerScene: The promotional trailers for the game contain more than a few scenes that never made it into the game, like Neku ''flying up the side of a building'' and an extra scene by the Udagawa tag wall. Many fans mistakenly believe that those scenes were specifically cut from the English-language version, mostly because they are among the most popular scenes to include in fanvids.* MistakenForGay: Mick, after having becoming overconfident in the second week only for things to fall apart by the third, apparently has so little confidence that he assumes Neku gives him his patronage because Neku's gay for him.* MortonsFork: A pair of {{NPC}} Reapers complain about being caught in one of these during week 2 -- they've been tasked by Konishi to clean up Minamimoto's "[[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible art]]". If he sees them doing this, they're screwed. If they ignore her, they're screwed. * MouthfulOfPi: Sho uses this as the incantation for Level ''i'' Flare. See GoodWithNumbers, above.* MrExposition: Higashizawa in Another Day. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] and [[GenreSavvy reprimanded]] by Uzuki.* MundaneMadeAwesome: [[spoiler:Minamimoto triggering his homemade nuke at the end of the second week by [[MouthfulOfPi reciting pi to 150 significant digits]].]]* MundaneUtility: Subverted. On Day 3, Neku tries to use the [[PlayingWithFire Pyrokinesis]] pin for a light, only to find that very few pins work outside of battle.* MyGreatestFailure and MyGreatestSecondChance, [[RuleOfThree times three]]: A large source of guilt for Beat is [[spoiler:the death of his sister, Rhyme]]. The Reapers' Game gave him a greatest second chance, which he botched by [[spoiler:being careless and failing to protect her]]. [[spoiler:Mr Hanekoma]] gave him a greatest ''third'' chance by [[spoiler:binding Rhyme's Soul to a pin]], and Beat failed ''yet again'' when [[spoiler:Konishi crushes her Noise form and takes her pin hostage]]. [[EarnYourHappyEnding It all works out in the end]], but ''[[EpicFail damn]]''.* MyNameIsQuestionMarks: The names of unvisited districts appear as question marks when you approach them, and on the third day question marks are (justifiably) used to obfuscate the fact that [[spoiler:the place you wake up in is actually your goal]].* NeverFoundTheBody: Inverted; people and Noise disappear in a flash of static upon erasure. This results in an interesting twist on the trope when we're shown [[spoiler:Minamimoto]]'s body; many fans assume he's actually alive and will appear in the possible sequel.* NeverTrustATrailer: There are several scenes in trailers that weren't in the game proper.* NewAgeRetroHippie: Shinta Iwata, the owner of the Cosmic Corner shop.** Arguably Kitaniji, who looks like a 70's businessman with a double life smoking pot.* NewGamePlus: After beating the game, you can return to any chapter previously as well as play a new one. You keep your stats, items, and bestiary, and use any partner at any time with the exception of storyline boss battles. You can also hold L or R to rush through text, but you can't skip the animated cutscenes. You'll also gain access to every day, whenever you want to access it.* NiceHat: You eventually get Minamimoto's hat as an item, and StatisticallySpeaking, it would best be described as an [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity Plus One Hat]]** And don't forget Shiki, Beat and Rhyme's caps.* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Neku becomes understandably upset when he's told that, by defeating [[spoiler:Kitaniji, he won Joshua's Game for him, meaning that Joshua gets to go through with his plan of destroying Shibuya. It's a good thing he changes his mind]].** A delayed version: [[spoiler:in the first week, one of the missions is to make the Red Skull Pins Successful. It turns out to be a vital part of the [[BigBad Big Bad's]] AssimilationPlot]].* NintendoHard: While manageable for most of the story, this game gets unusually difficult at the end. You fight several bosses in succession after you're last able to save, the last one possessing absurd HP totals, and one death sends you back to the checkpoint.* NoCommunitiesWereHarmed: Nearly every store encountered in Shibuya is given a thinly-veiled rename and bears ridiculous visual similarity to the location it's based on. For example, the [[SmallReferencePools Tower Records]] (slogan "It's a World Thing") becomes [[IncrediblyLamePun Towa Records]] (slogan "It's a Wild Thing").* NonindicativeName:** People who haven't played the game usually think it has something to do with the world ending [[spoiler: The fate of Shibuya, which was made into the game's world, hangs in the balance, though. And you come close to causing its end.]]** The "Underground" is considered a ''higher'' plane to normal reality.* NoIndoorVoice: Minamimoto, full stop. He even carries a bullhorn to drive the point across.* NotSoDifferent: "But Neku, don't you like music?" If Kitaniji had talked to Neku in the beginning of the game, they would have had identical mindsets.** [[spoiler:Joshua's mindset behind wanting to destroy Shibuya is similar to Neku's own mindset at the beginning of the game. Additionally, Kitaniji was using his AssimilationPlot in order to ultimately save Shibuya from the Composer. Hanekoma also wanted to keep Shibuya around. In the end, everybody wanted the same thing. Well, almost everybody.]]* NoodlePeople: Some of the characters have exaggeratedly thin waists (e.g. Shiki, Uzuki, Nao).* OddFriendship: Lazy, cool-headed Kariya and driven, high-strung Uzuki. Neku achieves this with all his partners despite rocky starts.* OffModel: A very minor example, concerning Beat. He is shown wearing a silver band on his right ring finger on the game's cover art, but it is absent from his sprites and the rest of the game's promotional art. In-game, the times he's shown wearing it can be counted on one hand.* OhNoYouDidnt: Beat, when a Reaper almost says his EmbarrassingFirstName.* OldMediaAreEvil: [[spoiler:Another Day]] Neku never watched TV at all, because his parents forbade him from watching TV, as it "warps the mind".* OmniscientMoralityLicense: Invoked by [[spoiler:Hanekoma, in the final Secret Report. One almost gets the impression he expects his Fallen Angel status to be revoked when his actions cause everything to end up working out for the best.]]* OneManArmy: Well, two-men army for Neku and his respective partner. * OnceMoreWithClarity: The game does this ''three times'' with the same sequence [[spoiler: of Neku's death. First, Neku ends up scanning Joshua's mind, which normally shouldn't be possible, and ends up seeing his dead body in his mind. When he scans Joshua again, we see a sequence where Joshua appears to shoot Neku. Then on the final day, the presence of Joshua and Minamimoto in the same area makes him remember the same sequence of events, only this time, it's revealed that Joshua was aiming for Minamimoto, who was right behind Neku, and it appears that Minamimoto was the one who shot Neku, and ''then'' during the ending, Joshua restores the full memory, where it's revealed that Minamimoto was aiming for Joshua, but failed due to Joshua still having some of his powers, causing Minamimoto to flee. Then, Joshua ''definitely'' kills Neku and leaves him with his extra Player pin.]]* OneSizeFitsAll: Once you can get your character's Bravery stat high enough, you can get them to wear all sorts of clothes that are smaller than the characters.* OneWingedAngel: Cantus form; every Game Master, along with [[spoiler:Hanekoma and arguably Joshua]], achieves it at some point.** The FinalBoss takes it UpToEleven. [[spoiler: You beat Kitaniji and he comes back and goes One Winged Angel like every other officer... only for Joshua to arrive after he's beaten, giving Kitaniji the idea to use Joshua to give his One Winged Angel form its own One Winged Angel: Draco Cantus.]]* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname[=/=]TheNicknamer: The entire cast, though, admittedly, some more than others. Justified in some cases, as Neku and his partner are usually never formally introduced to the GM or other reapers, and thus actually don't know their names.** Neku Sakuraba - [[HeadphonesEqualIsolation Phones]]** Yoshiya Kiryu - Joshua, Josh, J** Daisukenojo Bito - Beat, Skulls, Freshmeat** [[spoiler:Raimu Bito]] - Rhyme, Skulls Jr.** Uzuki Yashiro - Pinky** Koki Kariya - [[OralFixation Lollipop]]** Yodai Higashizawa - Big Guy, Ram-Crotch** Sho Minamimoto - [[MadMathematician Pi-Face]], The Grim Heaper** Mitsuki Konishi - Iron Maiden and several variations therof.** Megumi Kitaniji - Shades** Sanae Hanekoma - Mr. H** Not to mention CAT ([[spoiler: Mr. Hanekoma]]), Piggy (Mr. Mew), Nao-Nao, Makoto "Mick" Miki, Shuuto "Shooter" Dan, Itaru "Yammer" Yokoyamada, and Eiji "The Prince" Oji.** And then there's Another Day, in which the main cast all get themselves color codenames. In fact, Neku doesn't ever get to actually introduce himself.* OntologicalMystery[=/=][[YouWakeUpInARoom You Wake Up In A Pedestrian Scramble]]* OurAngelsAreDifferent: [[spoiler:They run the Game too, and are even higher in status than the Composer, but they're generally more like rule keepers that watch from the sidelines than anything else. (Hanekoma's one of them)]]* OurSoulsAreDifferent: People can be erased, but as it turns out, [[spoiler:souls are immortal, so they're not gone for good. If taken and reshaped by a strong enough outside source, they can even come back to life, in their own form or as something else]].* OutsideTheBoxTactic: The [[DemonicSpider hated elephant Noise]] and both forms of the final boss can be defeated easily in a matter of seconds with [[spoiler:the Time Bomb psych.]].* PaletteSwap: The BonusBoss, [[spoiler:Panthera Cantus]], is a double-palette swap: a blue Tigris Cantus on the upper screen and a red Leo Cantus on the lower.** [[UndergroundMonkey Many, many normal enemies get this treatment as well]], although there are usually minor additions to the model instead of just a palette swap.* PantheraAwesome: A trinity of them. PuzzleBoss Mitsuki Konishi, ThatOneBoss Sho Minamimoto, and BonusBoss [[spoiler:Sanae Hanekoma]].* PartyInMyPocket: In Another Day, Neku can fight with any of his partners, but their sprites aren't seen following him outside of battle like they do in the main game. While [[GameplayAndStorySegregation this happens before he's even met them]], after Neku meets them and gathers a whole gang, you still don't see anyone but Neku outside of cutscenes.* PerkyGoth: Princess K, once you get her FSG to max.** The shopkeeper at Tigre Punks is a Perky ''Punk''.* PhysicalGod: The Game's Composer has ridiculous reality-bending powers (read: the power to create and manipulate laws of nature as well as the Game's rules)... whether in the Underground or the Realground. An observant player may note that the first mention of him uses capitalized pronouns.* PickyEater: Your companions have certain goods they ''don't'' like. Neku in particular hates muffins. * PlotBasedPhotographObfuscation: Shiki has a photo on her cell phone of her and her friend Eri, with the glare obscuring the unfamiliar face. [[spoiler:Not Eri's face, though -- turns out, Shiki has taken on her friend's appearance as her entry fee.]]* PoisonMushroom: The Red Skull pin does nothing but lower Neku's movement. You have to wear it for a few battles as part of the plan to make it more popular.* PopQuiz: ''"Like a bolt from the blue, it's time for the Reaper Review!"''** There's a sequence in Joshua's week when Neku and Joshua have to solve a mystery together that plays a bit like this, too.** In that same week, there's one day during which entering certain areas will prompt Josh into a little ramble about the place (or ramen) and then ask you a question.* PostEndGameContent: If you think that killing the FinalBoss makes the game over, you're wrong. Say hello to a lot of the best equipment and stickers that has just been unlocked. Of course you still have to buy it.* PunchClockVillain: Most of the rank and file Reapers are nice guys, and the protagonists even make friends with some of them. They are just doing their job, which just happens to be erasing people from existence. If they fail at it, ''they'' get erased. So there's some motivation there. Reapers were once players themselves, who were granted the option of ''becoming'' Reapers due to [[ItRunsOnNonsensoleum their powers of Imagination]]. It's one career option in the afterlife.* POVCam: At the end when [[spoiler:Neku sees Joshua and Mr Hanekoma together after the duel]].* PowerFloats[=/=]MidairBobbing: Joshua, when using his [[FanNickname Jesus Beams]].** Neku, when using any psych that doesn't allow movement during the attack.* PowerGivesYouWings: It's explained that a Reaper's supernatural power is contained in their wings. When they shift over to the RG, their wings vanish, making them essentially normal humans until they return to the UG. Interestingly, Support Reapers (the ones who create walls) don't have any wings at all, while all Harriers (who create Noise and occasionally attack Players personally) do, suggesting that Support Reapers are stuck on wall duty because they don't have any other powers.* ThePowerOfFriendship: Most battles against the Noise are done with two Players. You control the fighting with the stylus for one, and the direction pad (or the buttons for you left-handers out there) for the other person. Not to mention the ending of the game, [[spoiler:which contains a cutscene of a Quad Fusion attack, more or less. Things went boom]].** Mingle Mode is the game's way of enforcing PowerOfFriendship in the real world.* PowerOfTrust: The story has Neku trying to open up to people so he and his partner can fight efficiency against the Noise and complete the missions of the Reaper's Game.* PreAsskickingOneLiner: Neku and his partners get memorable two-liners right before performing their Fusion attacks.-->'''Beat:''' "Yo, let's start it up!"\\'''Neku:''' "No, let's [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill end it!]]"* PreexistingEncounters: You scan the area to find and fight Noise symbols; the only times where you must battle Noise is if it's required in order to clear out a wall, or when the battle advances the storyline.* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Deconstructed. During the second week, Neku is feeling sorry for himself for losing [[spoiler:Shiki]] as his entry fee and is immediately cut down by Joshua, who tells him that all Players are fighting for something precious and Neku's entry fee doesn't make him any more a deserving candidate to win the Game than anyone else.** On a more meta note, the game plays this trope stunningly straight -- but we aren't shown until it's deconstructed yet again on the final day. [[spoiler:The game has you rooting for Neku and his friends all the way, with Kitaniji being played up as the BigBad. But once Kitaniji is finally defeated, we learn that he was working to save Shibuya all along, while everyone helping Neku was unwittingly enabling the Composer's plan to destroy it.]]* PsychicPowers: The game's magic system. The powers granted by pins have names such as "[[PlayingWithFire Pyrokinesis]]" and "[[MindOverMatter Psychokinesis]]", and the game (not the characters, the game itself) refers to playable characters as ESP'ers. MindReading is also a important plot and gameplay element.** Neku is a special case, as he can use ''every pin'' available, whereas generally, Players are only able to use certain psychs. For example, Shiki can only use the psychokinesis pin 'Groove Pawn' to control Mr Mew. She could not use Pyrokinesis, so she gave her Pyrokinesis pin to Neku.* {{Pun}}[=/=]LostInTranslation: Subverted. Whenever Minamimoto says "SOHCAHTOA", he's making a pun on "Sou ka?" or "Is that so?" It just so happens that his lines are perfectly appropriate for the situation.* PunchclockVillain: Arguably, most of the Reapers. They're inarguably the antagonists, but most of them don't have anything personal against the Players and are just doing their job. Furthermore, a good deal of them are quite decent, and will be at least grateful if they are helped by Players, like 777 and Kariya.* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The Game Masters, or Reapers who control the Noise and give the players missions. The Harriers, below them, are their own Quirky Miniboss Squad.* RainbowMotif: Jokingly mentioned in reference to Joshua.* RainbowSpeak: All the [[color:red:key words]] and [[color:red:memes]] are like this.* RandomEncounters: By the third week, Neku may be attacked randomly [[spoiler:by Reapers]] when moving between areas.* RankInflation: In battles from lowest to highest: E, D, C, B, A, and ★ (Star).* RareCandy: While most of the food items that permanently boost stats are not rare or expensive, the foods that boost drop rate are exceptionally expensive and hard to obtain. Curious Mushrooms can be bought for either 590,000 yen or fifteen 10,000 yen pins. Absolute Shadow Ramen requires redeeming several quest items, including the rare Dark Matter.** Not just them; a few food items are extremely expensive as well, such as the ones sold at the Shibu Q-Heads pharmacy and the Natural Remedies shop. And while food generally isn't rare or expensive, you do need to fight a number of battles before you can get the stat boost.* RealMenHateSugar: Aside from cola, Beat's reactions to eating sweet foods are neutral ''at best'' -- don't even try to give him crepes or chocolate icecream.* RealPlaceBackground: Shibuya's depiction in ''TWEWY'' is actually very accurate... making exceptions for the skewed angles and the changed store names, of course.* ReclusiveArtist: InUniverse: The reason why despite being an avid fanboy, Neku doesn't know who CAT is.* RedEyesTakeWarning: [[spoiler:Instant sign of being [[BrainwashedAndCrazy Brainwashed And Crazy.]]]]* RedFilterOfDoom: Neku's flashback.* RedOniBlueOni: In Another Day, "Red and Blue, eternal rivals..."** Also, Neku wears blue headphones and Kitaniji wears red headphones.* ReplacementScrappy: In-universe example: at the start of the second Game, Neku's trusted companion, Shiki, is replaced by Joshua; a self-centered, secretive, condescending, smug little JerkAss ''prick''. Joshua doesn't get through half a conversation before he makes Neku want to strangle him.* ReplayMode: After playing through the entire game once, all chapters of the story are accessible directly, so you can fight Noise with good item drops and replaying is required to get HundredPercentCompletion.* ReplayValue: Worth going back and replaying it at least once to collect the Secret Reports.* RespawningEnemies: Noise respawn only after you leave the area (except for Pig Noise, which never respawn). Of course, the one time your mission is to clear all the Noise from an area, they ''do'' keep respawning until you get to the root of the problem.* RestoredMyFaithInHumanity: Most of the characters in the game help to do this for Neku, and Neku in turn does it for [[spoiler:Joshua]].* RhinoRampage: The Rhino Noise, naturally.* RhymingWithItself: In "Transformation":-->Now, open your eyes, the pieces are all over!-->Now, you should accept that it is over!* SacrificialLamb: [[spoiler:Rhyme]], but [[spoiler:she gets revived in the end]].* SacrificialLion[=/=]MauveShirt: [[spoiler:Triple 7.]]* SelfImposedChallenge: You can lower your level at will, as well as eventually be able to change the battle difficulty on a whim. Turning down your level ups your drop multiplier, though, so it can be downright necessary to get the rarer pins.* {{Sentai}}: Kindred Spirits in Another Day organize themselves like a sentai team, including colour-coded names and items.* [[SequentialBoss Sequential]] MindScrew PuzzleBoss: Tigris Cantus, Konishi's Noise form.* SeriousBusiness: Pin Collection, justified in that they actually give you psychic powers. In the real world, they're just another fashion accessory.** They then parody the whole concept with the bonus chapter, "Another Day" which takes the minigame, Tin-Pin Slammer, the characters, and transports them all into a ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries''-type setting in which the game is all-important. Lampshaded in the Secret Reports:-->"... a world where Tin Pin Slammer--of all things!--[[BrickJoke reigns supreme]]."* SequelHook: It is mentioned that Shibuya is not the only city with a Reaper's Game and that it is not the Reapers and the Composer at the top of Shibuya's hierarchy, but rather [[spoiler:the Angels]], who the protagonists never learn of or have to confront.** In the iOS version, there's [[http://i.imgur.com/oCjx9.jpg this]] (spoiler warning) piece of artwork that appears after the secret ending.* ShapedLikeItself: After spending Joshua's third day running around Shibuya on the signals of an unexplained tracker app, Neku finally flat-out asks Joshua what he's looking for. His response?--> '''Joshua''': "Simply put? [[NonAnswer I'm looking for what this tracker is tracking]]."--> '''Neku''': (What the...? Oh, [[LampshadeHanging that's real helpful]]!)* SharedLifeMeter: Both Neku and his partner share a life meter that stretches across both screens of the DS. It even empties at both ends depending on who's getting hurt, with one character displaying their injured idle animation if his or her half of the life bar is completely empty.** Any DualBoss fights in the game (like Kariya and Uzuki, Kitaniji and [[spoiler: Shiki]], or [[spoiler: BonusBoss Hanekoma's simultaneous dual forms]]) have this rule applying for the bosses as well.* ShoutOut: Has [[ShoutOut/TheWorldEndsWithYou its own page!]]* ShrineToTheFallen: There's one for [[spoiler:Beat and Rhyme]], after they died in a car accident. * SiblingYinYang: [[spoiler:Beat and Rhyme, with Rhyme being calm, level-headed and responsible, while Beat is more emotional, impulsive and less intelligent]]. [[spoiler:Rhyme's]] gear that you can purchase after completing the game tends to emphasize defense, while [[spoiler:Beat's]] tends to emphasize offense.* SinisterShades: Kitaniji's glasses.* SixthRangerTraitor: [[spoiler:Rhyme]] in ''Another Day''.* [[SlapOnTheWristNuke Slap On The Wrist]] ColonyDrop: Joshua's level 3 Fusion, "[[FanNickname Jesus Meteor]]", wherein Neku and Joshua drop the freakin' moon on Earth.* SoftReset: Unique in that the 'return to title' option is only given after you've died. (Or Start, Select, L and R.)* SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear: A really, really grating example; Neku changes partners each week, and any stat boosts you've given them via food or any equipment they had are taken with them. You don't get to use them again until [[spoiler:after you've ''beaten the game'']]. To make it worse, you can't just unequip them, since the last time you can do so is right before a ClimaxBoss.** With the exceptions of food boosts, the first one isn't ''so'' bad. Shiki will usually have nothing but female equipment on, which is initially useless to your other two, male, partners because you need higher brave to use them anyway and most gear has effects exclusive to each partner.** However, this ends up making the endgame more seamless. Because [[spoiler:all your partners come back in the endgame, the fact that they are still equipped with all the items they left with means they'll still have all their advantages in the endgame without having to re-equip them.]]* SomeDexterityRequired: The game's battle system has you controlling Neku on the bottom screen using the stylus and your partner character on the top using the D-pad or the face buttons for lefties. This means you need to pay attention to two screens at once and control using both the stylus and face buttons, which can be difficult to pull off for players. You ''can'' set the partner's actions to have the CPU to take over, but it isn't terribly reliable, especially for gathering Fusion Stars for the Fusion attacks. If you're up against [[ThatOneBoss certain bosses]] or even simple Taboo Noise, this trope's name becomes quite the understatement, as ''they'' will absolutely require you to have some mastery over both Neku and his partner so you can at least use the light puck (which gives a damage boost to whoever it's passed to) reliably. The iOS version has different battle mechanics to compensate for being on a single screen, such as turning the partners into [[AssistCharacter Assist Characters]] instead.* SpannerInTheWorks: Neku specifically mentions to a Reaper that Beat cannot be predicted by anyone, so trying to manipulate him is pointless. See also TooDumbToFool.** [[spoiler: The Secret Reports reveal that Hanekoma imprinted Beat with the knowledge of how to create noise specifically because it wouldn't alter the outcome of the game, and he admired his dedication to wanting to save his sister. Come week 3...]]* SpellLevels: Pins in the game are divided into three elements: Positive, Negative, and [[NonElemental Neutral]]. Each psych has an associated rank (e.g. C, B, and A) which determines the limit of how many said psych can be equipped in a single deck. There are also Reaper and Angel ranked pins, which unlike A-ranked pins, only one pin of these ranks can be used (it is possible to have a Reaper and Angel in the same deck, but no more than one can be used).* SpoilerOpening: Done magnificently - you won't realize it until after you've beaten the game, but [[spoiler:the opening cinematic spoils ''the entire plot.'' Joshua, the "two Shikis," Rhyme's fate, Kitaniji's plan for {{Instrumentality}}, the reason behind Neku's death... it's all there.]]* StalkerWithACrush: PlayedForLaughs. You can follow the train of thought of one of 777's fangirls throughout the game as it basically goes from "He's the hottest man alive!" to "I'm gonna follow him home next time." to "WTH, he just disappeared while I was stalk-FOLLOWING him!" * TheStarscream: Several people are trying to overthrow the Composer to take up the mantle, including Sho Minamimoto [[spoiler:and Beat, though his reasons are [[WellIntentionedExtremist generally good]]]].* StepfordSmiler: [[spoiler:Shiki]] in the first arc.** Arguably [[spoiler:Joshua, considering the game heavily implies he not only killed himself to enter the UG, but that as the Composer, he essentially IS Shibuya itself. Wanting to destroy it could be considered a form of suicide, given that he'd take himself out with it.]] In addition, certain sprites showing up at different times in a conversation and even the idle animation, if watched long enough, indicate that the constant smirking is not all that it appears to be.* TheStinger: Provided you've completed one of the OneHundredPercentCompletion criteria.** Another is in the iOS port, hinting to a possible sequel.* SuicideIsPainless: Heavily implied with [[spoiler:Joshua]].--> "Life for me was one giant bore. Just the same thing, day after day... Now THAT felt like death."** Even more obvious was the following quote, because by the time it comes up you know how people get into the Game:--> "I'm here because I want to be."** However, it turns out that [[spoiler:he's actually still alive]]. But ''[[WhamEpisode then]]'' it turns out that [[spoiler:we don't even ''know'' if he's technically alive or dead]].* SupernaturalPhone: The main characters receive the rules for the days games from the Reapers with their cellphones through text messages. Joshua however kicks it up a notch using his to use initiate his attacks which include dropping objects and [[HolyHandGrenade Jesus]] [[PillarOfLight beams]] on his enemies. Mr. Hanekoma also modifies Neku's phone so that it can take pictures of the past.* SurrealThemeTune: "Twister".** By the end, practically the entire song seemed to be an ExpositoryThemeTune, even a SpoilerOpening except done in such an overly stylish way that the exposition was unrecognizable.* {{Synchronization}}: Your partner shares HP. Neku might not get hit at all, but if your partner gets dealt enough damage, GameOver. This is especially bad if you're using Auto-Play, because [[ArtificialStupidity the AI for it sucks]].* TacticalRockPaperScissors: The Whammies in Tin Pin Slammer (except [[VideoGameLives one]]) each counter another Whammy.* TakeOffYourClothes: When Shiki sees that a button on Neku's pants isn't sewn on right, she demands he take off his pants to let her fix them. He doesn't really interpret it as a come-on, but it's pretty awkward anyway. * TakeThat: The track "Game Over" possesses a StealthInsult towards message boards, namely 2ch, and the nature of anonymous posting:-->''He's got an opinion and posted suggestion but never reveals his name''\\''Read by someone, taken as a good one but nobody knew who had wrote it''\\''Few lines of the sentences lie''\\''Anonymity is annoying me all the time''\\''It's like a [[ImageBoards two channel]], where people can just throw their own anger''\\''And forget about those foul actions''* TakeYourTime: You have so-and-so many minutes for each mission. Feel free to take years to do so, and, as mentioned, get ''rewarded'' for doing so.* TeamSpirit: Without a partner, a Player is automatically erased in seven minutes. Fighting alone doesn't work, either; before you get a partner, you can't use any of your pins.* TechnicianVersusPerformer: It's briefly mentioned that where Yammer is an expert in the technical aspects of Tin Pin Slammer but isn't a very skilled player, the talented Shooter barely understands the game at all.* TechnicolorDeath: Slain bosses fulfill this in two different ways, first turning black on a background of white noise, then radiating beams of light, and finally vanishing in a white static burst.* TeensAreShort: Even Beat, by far the tallest of the 15-and-under group, is teeny in juxtaposition with any given character over 17. * ThemeNaming: The clothing brands are named after the animals of the [[EasternZodiac Chinese Zodiac]]. This becomes relevant in one mission. The 13th clothing brand, Gatito, is a reference to the legend of how the Cat didn't follow the rules of the Chinese Zodiac. [[spoiler:It's also run by Hanekoma, rather than normal civilians. And to make this a bit more [[{{Anvilicious}} obvious]], CAT didn't follow the rules of the Angels.]]** The four Game Masters are also named after the cardinal directions--''Kita''niji, ''Minami''moto, ''Higashi''zawa, and Ko''nishi'' (north, south, east, and west respectively).** Every Game Master and [[spoiler:Hanekoma]]'s OneWingedAngel forms are all given Latin names ending with "Cantus". An animal name is also hidden in the kanji of their names. There are also several boss Noise named Canor; all these are basically bigger versions of normal Noise.** The various normal Noise have musically-themed names. (Mostly.) The musical theme of the UG is reinforced by the top positions being called the Composer, Conductor, and Producer.** There is also a subtle FloralThemeNaming for Neku and his partners in their surnames: Sakuraba means '"cherry garden" , Misaki tranlates to "beautiful blossom", while Kiryu and Bito contain the characters for "paulownia" and "wisteria" respectively. [[spoiler:Rhyme's surname is Bito as well.]]* ThePinIsMightierThanTheSword: The main form of combat in the UG is with pins. You go around and collect them, not at all unlike a {{Mon}}s game.* ThirdPersonPerson: Princess K.* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Kariya and Uzuki.* ThoseTwoGuys: Shooter and Yammer (except in Another Day), Ai and Mina.* TimeStandsStill: One of Kitaniji's abilities.* TitleDrop: The English title drop is demonstrated by the top page quote. The Japanese title, "It's a Wonderful World", gets a rather ominous drop near the end of the game:-->[[spoiler:"To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise.]] What a wonderful world such would be..."* TomatoSurprise: [[spoiler:Shiki, as she appears in the Underground, is really taking on the guise of her best friend Eri because she's incredibly self-conscious about her own appearance.]]** [[spoiler:Joshua, who was the Composer all along, REALLY killed Neku, after being seen as guilty first and innocent later. Then there´s the whole "Angel Hanekoma is more powerful than Joshua and reborned Minamimoto to send him after Josh, who is trying to destroy Shibuya, while Neku is being manipulated by Josh to win a Game he has with Kitaniji, the [[BigBad Big Bad]] who really wants to SAVE the city (using [[AssimilationPlot Instrumentality]], but still wants to protect the place").]]* TooDumbToFool: When [[AlmostDeadGuy Konishi]] attempts to emotionally cripple him by revealing that [[spoiler:Rhyme doesn't love Beat as much as he loves her]], Beat hesitates only long enough to give her satisfaction, and then promptly ignores it.* TotallyRadical: Usually avoided, as the game uses modern slang, and properly, at that. The salesman, Mick, however, is still stuck in the 80's when he first appears. Neku also falls to this a couple times. * TWordEuphemism: Subverted. Cultural icon Eiji Oji, A.K.A. the Prince of Ennui, has a super-popular blog called "F Everything" which gets referenced several times. No, it doesn't mean what you think it does. [[spoiler:It stands for Fabulous.]] * TranslatedCoverVersion: Some songs in the soundtrack have versions in both English and Japanese.* TrappedInVillainy: The Reapers are mostly [[PunchClockVillain Punch Clock Villains]], but they do point out that if they don't erase players, then ''they'' get erased instead.* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: In-universe. Sho is insistent that his junk heaps are works of art.* TrueFinalBoss: Beating the main story of [[AlternateUniverse Another Day]] [[spoiler: lets you challenge Shuto for one final match of Tin Pin Slammer. Beating Shuto lets you challenge [[CreatorCameo Shinji Hashimoto]] himself for a final final match of Tin Pin Slammer.]]* TheUnFavorite: Beat, to [[spoiler:his sister Rhyme]].* TheUnfought: The final boss is [[spoiler:not the Composer. Well, at least [[FusionDance not directly]]. When Neku does face the Composer, it's in the epilogue; the player can't influence the outcome.]]* UnreliableNarrator: [[spoiler:Hanekoma in the secret reports]]. To the point where he blatantly leaves important things out or makes them ambiguous and then [[spoiler:writes to Neku himself towards the end]].** Also, Neku's [[spoiler:LaserGuidedAmnesia makes his ''own'' memories unintentionally unreliable. Several times.]]* TheUnreveal: [[spoiler:No, you never see the entirety of RG Shiki's face. [[YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm Not even in Another Day.]]]]* UnsoundEffect: Bling! Which is at least vaguely onomatopoeia. The original version, "GET!", on the other hand...* UnwinnableByDesign: [[spoiler:Kitaniji]] tries to invoke this in week 3 by [[spoiler:swiping away all other Players as the entry fee for Week 3. [[SubvertedTrope It fails]] when Beat shows up to save Neku.]]* UnwittingPawn: Beat, Neku, and Shiki are both examples of this and [[SpannerInTheWorks Spanners In The Works]].* UpToEleven: Minamimoto's final attack (which he never uses in battle) is called "Level ''i'' Flare", a play on the names of attacks in ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' such as Level 3 Flare and Level 5 Death, which affect characters whose levels are divisible by those numbers. Except that ''i'' is the square root of negative one, making it a possible factor in ''every'' number, ''both real and imaginary''.** Also a moment of FridgeBrilliance, as [[spoiler:the Secret Reports]] state that the psychic attacks used by Reapers and Players are powered by the user's Imagination. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that Sho's most powerful attack would utilize an ''imaginary number''.* UpdatedRerelease: The [=iOS=] version, despite making compromises to the gameplay for it to work on one screen, features higher resolution graphics, music tracks from ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance'', and adds social features added into the game.* UrbanFantasy: The game takes place in modern-day Shibuya, where death gods pits people in a game of life-or-death and fighting off graffiti-inspired monsters.* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: ''[[spoiler:To right the countless wrongs of our day, we shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise. What a wonderful world such would be...]]''** Which also counts as a TitleDrop. * ValleyGirl: Both Nao and ''Solo Remix's'' Coco talk like this. Some of the shopkeepers as well.* VendorTrash: The only way to get money is by selling pins to the trash can, making it ''literal'' VendorTrash.* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: [[spoiler:The Shibuya River sewers. Brr.]]--->'''[[spoiler:Shiki]]''': This door just screams "endgame".** And just so you know you're finally really getting near the end, [[spoiler:instead of being numbered "Day 1", "Day 2", etc, Week 3 uses "7 Days Left", "6 Days Left", etc, until "The Last Day"]].* VictorGainsLosersPowers: Beat some of the enemies in specific difficulties and you'll get their pins instead of normal ones or VendorTrash.* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: Mild example. Certain characters have food(s) that they don't like. Keep on feeding them these food(s) and you'll be treated to voice clips of them saying "Yuck", "Ew!" or "Eeew! Take it away!", ** Hypothetically, if someone were to defeat the Composer, then he or she would assume his position and all it entails.* VoiceGrunting: The opening and ending scenes have full voicing, however. ** As does the cutscene with [[spoiler:Joshua]]'s FamousLastWords.* WakeUpCallBoss: InvokedTrope. [[spoiler:Game Masters are meant to ensure that Players (the in-universe kind) don't survive the week, and you conclude the first week by fighting one.]] What does this mean for players (the... out-of-universe kind)? A boss with very strong, spammable attacks, and '''''several times''' more HP'' than any previous boss. * WarriorTherapist: [[spoiler: Hanekoma]] sure as hell tries to play the part during his boss fight, spouting out inspirational phrases ("DON'T LET LIMITS SLOW YOU!", "ENJOY THE MOMENT!", "OPEN UP YOUR WORLD!") while he kicks your ass six ways to Sunday.* WelcomeToCorneria: Averted. The [=NPCs=] whose minds you read have different thoughts from week to week, and later on in the third week, [[spoiler:they all turn to the same thing because of Kitaniji's plan]].* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Kitaniji]], in the end, just wants to [[spoiler:save Shibuya from destruction]]. Granted, doing so via [[spoiler:mass brainwashing]] probably isn't the wisest of ideas. Likewise, Beat's motives for [[spoiler:becoming a Reaper and agreeing to kill Neku]] and later for [[spoiler:trying to become the Composer via KlingonPromotion]] are to bring his friends and particularly [[spoiler:his sister Rhyme]] back.** [[spoiler:Joshua]] is also a WellIntentionedExtremist. His reason for [[spoiler:wanting to destroy Shibuya]] is to prevent it from corrupting the rest of the world.* WhamLine[=/=]WhamEpisode: The first one occurs during Day 4 when [[spoiler:Rhyme is killed by a Noise]], and they keep building from there, sometimes with one new Wham every day. Especially Day 7 when [[spoiler:Neku discovers he's forced to play The Game for ''another'' seven days]].** Special mention goes to Day 5, where Neku realizes [[spoiler: that all the Players are dead, and the Reapers' Game is a competition for a chance at resurrection.]]* WhamShot: Day 6, so you and Shiki are going out helping advertise this strange red pin and...wait a minute: [[spoiler: Why is there ''another'' Shiki hanging around Shibuya?]]* {{Whatever}}: Uzuki lapses in and out of this. Nao is a constant Valley Girl, though.* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Avoided; all of the major bosses [[OneWingedAngel turn into monsters]], but revert to human form before being erased. [[spoiler:This does not keep Megumi Kitaniji from [[ScaledUp directly violating Rule 34]] ([[RuleThirtyFour not that one]]) [[ScaledUp of the]] EvilOverlordList, although, to be fair, it's not his [[SequentialBoss final form]].]]* WhatTheHellHero: Neku tries to [[spoiler:''kill his own partner'']]; luckily, Hanekoma is there to stop him and call him out for it. Later, Neku blames himself [[spoiler:for Joshua's death]] because he didn't trust his partner enough, although [[spoiler:he turns out to be fully justified in that regard]].* WhiteAndGrayMorality: With the exception of [[spoiler: Mitsuki Konishi]], there's not a lot of evil in the game. Either side is just doing what they can in order to get by. Aside from that, [[spoiler: Joshua]] only wants to better humanity, and [[spoiler: Kitaniji and Mr. H]] just plain ''love'' Shibuya. Another exception could be Minamimoto, but he may or may not be on BlueAndOrangeMorality.* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Twisted; [[spoiler:the Great Power was a ruse intended to cause the Great Insanity, i.e. {{Instrumentality}}, among the Reapers just when it started with the civilians.]]* WildCard: Hanekoma helps both [[spoiler: Kitaniji and Joshua accomplish their completely opposite goals. However, this could be because the Producer's job is to keep things equal.]]* WillfullyWeak: You can adjust your level at any time, so you could play the entire game at level 1[[note]]unless you level up in the middle of a battle, anyway[[/note]] if you so wished. There's also [[spoiler:Joshua, who has his power ratcheted down so that he can go unnoticed]].** {{Downplayed}} in that changing the level only affects your health, while leaving all of your other stats untouched. Playing at level 1 near the latter stages of the game essentially makes you a OneHitPointWonder.* WordSaladLyrics: "Twister". Boy howdy.* WorldsSmallestViolin: After Neku explains what happened in the previous week, Joshua quotes this trope by name and then tells Neku that he isn't the only player who has something important riding on winning the Game.* YaoiFangirl: Shiki in [[AffectionateParody Another Day]].* YouAreNotAlone: In the ending theme of the original DS game and part of the overall theme for the whole game.-->A lullaby for you\\Stars will always gracefully watch over 'till it's bright\\May tomorrow be wonderful too\\Take my hand and promise me that we'll be alright\\Even through cloudy days\\You are not alone!* YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm: Another Day parodies this.-->''We all perceive the world around us differently, filtered through the lens of our desired reality.\\So if you're wondering why [[spoiler: a certain young lady]] still looks like somebody else...it's because [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall you]] refuse to perceive [[spoiler: her as she really is]]\\The only thing stopping you from seeing [[spoiler: [[TheFaceless what she really looks like...]]]] is you.\\[[TakeThatAudience So you see, it's your fault.]]''** [[DontExplainTheJoke This is a parody because]] it's a variation of Hanekoma's TitleDrop speech about how the "world ends with you" (see the quote at the top of the page). It's meant to sound like a HandWave, [[spoiler:but reading between the lines (and the fact that it's "Another Day"... AND the fact that it's [[{{Jerkass}} Joshua saying this]]), it's pretty much a roundabout way of saying "the developers didn't bother - for whatever reason - to make new sprites and artwork for just this one character and didn't want to come up with a more plausible in-universe reason for Shiki still looking like Eri, so just deal with it". Neku is understandably confused by this.]]* YouFightLikeACow: Some of the voice clips that talking enemies make mid-battle fit this.* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Congrats! You survived the week and won the Game! That was fast. Hey, how come you never met this guy on the cover? ...oh.* YouWatchTooMuchX: In Another Day, after an enigmatic conversation with Joshua, Neku thinks, "Kid plays too many video games."** Even before Another Day, during the 2nd week Neku says as much about Josh when the latter shows off his knowledge of a kid's anime based off of Tin Pin Slammer.* ZettaiRyouiki: Not only does Mitsuki Konishi have them, many equipable miniskirts and hot pants have flavor text that mentions that they would look killer with stockings in their descriptions and vice-versa in several stockings' descriptions.----